


Just like a shelter (in a time of storm)

by AGallifreyanTrickster



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Violence, F/M, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Slow Burn, Y'all know I suck at tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-17 03:35:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 37
Words: 53,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3513818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGallifreyanTrickster/pseuds/AGallifreyanTrickster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bellamy Blake has lived all his life in Mount Weather, a God-forsaken town with less than a thousand inhabitants. Everyday is the same -not that he's complaining- until one night he stumbles upon a woman, a woman that will turn this strong, shy and not very talkative man into a big protective teddy bear.</p><p>Or</p><p>How Bellamy Blake finds a battered woman in the middle of the night and takes her under his wing and into his heart</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello there!  
> This is my first Bellarke fic. I gotta tell you I'm not fan of AUs in this fandom, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone and I HAD to write it.  
> Like always, un-beta'd, any msitakes are on me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on a Robyn Carr book

_«Good night, this is Desmond Stuart talking, this is your nightly weather report. As some of you may have already noticed winter is hitting bad this year, I’d say is winter with a vengeance. There are really severe conditions developing over the mountains, heavy snowfall, really strong winds. (.) I’d be really surprised is some of you were out of your homes-»_

 

“Well Desmond” Bellamy muttered to himself, turning off the radio “Some of us can’t stay in our homes because our bosses-”

He hit the brakes as soon as he could. He got out of the car and sprinted to the road, crouching in front of the motionless figure. It was a woman, a very pale, thin, unconscious woman. Bellamy picked her up and took her to his truck, laying her gently on the back seat.

With shaky hands he took his phone out of his pocket, pleading to whomever was listening that his soon to be brother-in-law was awake. The phone rang three times before he answered.

“Yeah?” Lincoln asked with a sleepy tone “What do you need Bellamy?”

“She’s unconscious”

“What do you mean she’s unconscious? Who is?”

“I was driving and she came out of nowhere… I-I don’t think I hit her, but she’s unconscious”

Bellamy heard the ruffling of sheets and the muffled voice of her sister asking what happened. Lincoln answered with a soft « _It’s nothing, go back to sleep_ » before answering Bellamy.

“Take her to the clinic, I’ll be waiting”

“Thank you man”

Stuffing the phone inside his coat pocket, he moved closer to the woman and took some of the blankets that he kept under the seat. When he tried to cover her with them, she woke up and grabbed him forcefully by the wrist. Her eyes were unfocused and her expression was one of true fear. She released her grip on him and tried to get out of the truck.

“No, wait, I’ll take you to a doctor”

“No you won’t”

As soon as she got up she grabbed the door of the truck, the so familiar dizziness taking control again. Bellamy tried to grab her arm, but stopped when she flinched at the contact.

“Listen-uh, my name is Bellamy Blake and I-”

“Save it” She interrupted him “Thanks for everything you’ve done but I don’t need your help”

Her tough words were followed by a shiver. She was most definitely not dressed for a storm of this magnitude. The snow was getting into her thin coat and her skin was wet and cold. Bellamy reached for one of the blankets and put it around her shoulders.

“I just want to help you. I live a few miles from here.” He paused, waiting for a response “You don’t even have to tell me your name, I’ll take you to a doctor for a checkup, is for your own good.”

“Clarke”

“What?”

“My name is Clarke”

“Well Clarke, What do you say?”

“I’ll go with you if you give me your cellphone” She answered “in case you turn out to be a serial killer I want to be able to make a call”

He took the phone out of his pocket and handed it to him, motioning for her to get in the backseat. He walked around the truck and got in the front seat, turning to check on her in the back and took a moment to take in her appearance. She had blonde wavy hair, not the kind of bottled up blonde he was used to, it was a warm type of blonde. Her eyes were a vivid blue with a hint of darkness on them. Her nose and cheeks were flushed from the cold, contrasting the pale tone of her skin. She was so pale that it almost scared him.

“Did you say your name was Bellamy?” She asked and he snapped out of his thoughts

“Yes, Bellamy Blake” He answered as he started to drive, trying to make out the way through the heavy snow “I live in Mount Weather, just a few miles from here”

They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Bellamy was really out of his element, he was not a talkative man but for some reason he wanted to keep talking to this woman. It was funny, really, because when it came to women he was most interested in taking her to his room rather than talking to them.

“Do you want me to turn on the radio?” He asked

She nodded and snuggled more into the blanket. He turn it on and change the stations until soft folk music filled the truck. She looked out of the window, the snow falling hard on the glass. Out there looked so cold but she was so cozy inside that blanket. Slowly the tiredness of the day won the battle and she fell asleep, feeling safer that she’d been in months.

 

When she woke up the car was pulling in front of an old three story brick building. Bellamy got out of and opened the door for her. A tall, muscular man approached them and helped Clarke get into the building. Tightening her grip on the blanket she followed them into a small medical office. The tall man put on a white coat and turned to her with a smile.

“My name is Lincoln” he extended his hand towards her “I’m the town doctor”

Clarke accepted his hand reluctantly. His grip was strong, confident. For some reason she felt like she could trust him.

“I’m Clarke”

“Nice to meet you Clarke” he said with a breathtaking smile and turned to the other man “Bellamy, please, wait outside”

Bellamy looked at her, asking her with his eyes if it was OK to leave her alone. She nodded and he got out of the room. Lincoln took a seat on the desk, motioning for her to take a seat in front of him.

“Bellamy told me you fainted. Is it something you’ve experiencing recently or was it just this time?”

“I-I think it was a response to the shock of almost being hit by a truck”

The corners of his mouth turned up, forming a smile

“I see your sense of humor was not affected” he paused “Clarke, would it be OK if I do a physical examination?”

She nodded. He got up the chair and searched under the stretcher for a gown, giving it to her and getting out of the room to let her change into it. When he came back, she was sitting on the stretcher and he had a small rectangular device in his hand, she recognized it was a glucometer.

“I’m going to check on your blood sugar, just to see if it had something to do with what happened”

He came close, put on a pair of gloves, took her hand and pinched it with a lancet. The small drop of blood fell on the test strip and the numbers appeared on the screen of the device.

“It’s low” she said, not noticing the surprised look on the doctor’s face.

“It is” He replied “Most of my young patients have no idea of the normal blood sugar levels”

“I…I’m very conscious of my health”

“Good for you, that’s the kind of mentality everyone should have”

He discarded the used lancet and strip and put the glucometer on his desk. He approached her again with a small flashlight and checked her eyes and mouth, then he took his stethoscope and checked on her heart and lungs.

“You need to lay over, I’m going to check your abdomen”

She shook her head “No”

“Clarke, I’m doing a full physical examination”

“No, I don’t think is necessary. Obviously I fainted due to hypoglycemia” She said in a rush “I just need to eat something and then I’ll leave”

 “Clarke, take it easy” He sighed, and lowered his tone “I already noticed you are pregnant”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I am touched by the response to the first chapter, thank you so much for the kudos and comments.  
> If my life allows it, I'll be doing weekly updates, sadly the chapters wont be as long as you'd expect cause I don't have that much time to write and my muse hits roughly once a week.
> 
> P.S: Did that finale wrecked you as much as it wrecked me?

“No, I don’t think is necessary. Obviously I fainted due to hypoglycemia” She said in a rush “I just need to eat something and then I’ll leave”

 “Clarke, take it easy” He sighed, and lowered his tone “I already noticed you are pregnant”

Clarke felt the office spinning around her, how did he know? It was too soon for her to be showing. She tried to get off the stretcher and run far away but her weak, wobbly legs betrayed her. Lincoln grabbed her arms and help her back on the stretcher.

“H-how did y-you know?” She asked him

“I’m a doctor, I can pick up the early signs”

“Please don’t tell anybody” she pleaded

“Clarke” he replied softly “Whatever you tell me, it stays between you and me” He smiled softly “You’re my patient, is basic doctor-patient confidentiality”

“I’m four weeks along” She said as she laid on the stretcher. Lincoln auscultated her abdomen before removing the gown. His eyes opened like plates, shocked by the sight in front of him.

Hear abdomen was covered in bruises, lots and lots of big bruises. He removed the rest of the gown, noticing how the purple and greenish splotches covered her chest and legs too. Whoever did this knew how to make it not noticeable.

He looked back at her. Her eyes were filled with tears. Hesitatingly, he covered her again and touched her hand softly.

“Don’t worry Clarke, no one here’s gonna hurt you” He said “We’ll protect you from the weak dick who did that to you”

She got off the stretcher and grabbed her clothes with a trembling hand.

“I think I should go” she said lowly, a single tear running down her cheek “Thanks for your help”

“Hey.” He stopped her “Don´t. we can help”

“No” she said, shaking her head “You can’t”

She knew he was trying to help, and if the circumstances were different she would take the offer without doubt; but _he_ was a powerful man and if she wanted to stay out of his radar she needed to keep running.

“Listen, you need to rest Clarke, at least for tonight” he said “If tomorrow you want to go, then do it”

“But I can’t-”

“Where would you go?” he asked “The roads are pretty awful right now. And you don’t have a car”

“I can take a bus or something”

“We are in Mount Weather. We have no bus station” he replied “and even if it were one it wouldn’t be open.”

Clarke sighed “I’m scared” she admitted softly, her eyes welled up again “I gotta keep on running”

“Just take your doctor’s advice and stay here” he said in a professional tone “I won’t let anybody out there in that cold snowy mess. It’s my duty”

She smiled shyly as his passionate tone. “Can I dress now?”

“Of course”

She entered the bathroom and changed into her clothes, trying her best not to cry. She wondered, like she’d been doing for the past months how she ended up with an abuser. Her father never hit her or her mother, he didn’t even yell at them, never said a mean word.

Tears came to her eyes because she remembered the life she had with her parents, they were extremely happy, even when both of her parents worked most of the day she never felt alone, never felt abandoned.

Then Connor came into her life, a successful law student with a brand new Mercedes, a brand new loft, an edgy, worded man. He was brilliant and energetic, and incredibly mature for his age. He bought her things and took her out almost every night, refusing her offers to split the bill.

Her friends were always saying how lucky she was, how perfect her life was, a perfect boyfriend and a perfect family. And she believed it.

Then tragedy came and both of her parents died. She was devastated. And Connor was her shoulder to cry on, he stood by her side on the funeral and helped her with all the arrangements. She was in love.

She moved with him the next week, she couldn’t bear to be in the same house with all the painful memories of her childhood.

 

The first time he’d hit her they were having an argument in the kitchen of his loft. It was so silly she vaguely remembered it. It got pretty nasty. She called him ugly things and he’d said his share of awful things too. Then he slapped her.

He broke down and cried like a child, he asked, no, he _pleaded_ for forgiveness, saying he wasn’t sure why he’d done it, saying it was wrong, promising he’d never do it again because he was ashamed and he loved her. He loved her so much it made him _nuts._

She believed him. After all, he was the only thing she had left.

It took her less than a week of gifts and nights out to forget about the incident. She made the mistake of excuse him. He was a passionate man after all, a successful confident man. If he were passive he wouldn’t have gotten where he was, she told herself.

“Clarke, I don’t want to wait.” He said one night “I want to marry you, to give you the life you deserve, you don’t even have to work, I’ll give you all you need”

She said yes and dropped her internship. She was so stupid.

He hit her again one week after.

Over the next two years she tried everything from police to her so-called friends. Every time she tried something it just got worse. He was too powerful, had friends in high places or used his money to get out. She quickly discovered all that he was hiding, he was a drug addict and an alcoholic, and all these things worsened his short temper. So she stopped trying.

Until she found out she was pregnant.

 

When she came out of the bathroom Lincoln was waiting for her with a bottle of painkillers on his hand. He handed them to her with a smile.

“Don’t worry, they are safe for the baby”

She took the bottled and stuffed it on her coat pocket, whispering a low “thanks”.

“Do you, um, do you have any idea where to get a room here?” she asked him

“Oh, sadly we don’t have motels, or inns, actually we don't even have a B&B here in Mount Weather” he smiled “But Bellamy has a spare room, I’m sure he’d gladly give it to you for one night”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too bad it was that short. I don't promise anything, but I'll post another chapter tomorrow if the moon allows it.  
> A big shout out to [my sister](http://www.apiemakerinkansas.tumblr.com) and her friend Andrea, what a nosy pair.  
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated, let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how happy I am!  
> All your kudos and comments got me giggling in the middle of the night  
> This week was a nightmare, thankfully is almost over. Without futher ado, here's the chapter.  
> As always, un-beta'd

“Oh, sadly we don’t have motels or inns, actually we don't even have a B&B here in Mount Weather” he smiled “But Bellamy has a spare room, I’m sure he’d gladly give it to you for one night”

Bellamy used that moment to knock on the door. Lincoln opened it and guide him inside. He had his hands inside his jeans’ pockets, his coat was open, showing a plaid shirt underneath it. The doctor smiled at him.

“I was just telling Clarke about your extra room” He said, looking at Bellamy “You wouldn’t mind offering it to her for just one night, would you?”

“Not at all” He said “It’s not a 5 stars room or anything but it’s pretty good, it has a bathroom”

“I assure you I can pay you for it” She said

“No, you don’t need to pay me” He cleared his throat “I’m helping you out. Okay?”

She nodded “That’s incredible generous of you”

He simply shrugged.

 

 

Bellamy took her to his house – that happened to be a really old building, much like the little clinic – and showed her the place. The first floor was a bar, and it was beautiful. It was like an old Hunter’s bar with old wooden chairs and tables, old photographs on the walls, a huge chalkboard with the prices and a stone fireplace.

“This is beautiful” She said softly “Is this all yours?”

He looked at her with a small smile on his lips “It’s mine except that I’m not the owner”

Her brows furrowed “I don’t understand”

“I’ve been the bartender and the cooker since I was 20” He said “I live here and I take care of the place and I fix what needs to be fixed and change what needs to be changed, but it’s not mine. The owner is a man named Marcus”

She nodded in understanding. Before she could say or do anything else her stomach grumbled. It was so loud that Bellamy was able to hear it. He grinned and moved quickly to put one of the chairs down in front of a table.

“Sit here.” He told her “I’ll go get you something to eat”

“You don’t have to do this-“

“Nonsense” he interrupted “I don’t know how much time you were out there, I bet you haven’t eaten in hours”

“It’s true” She said. It seemed like there was no point in trying to argue with this man. “It’ll do me good. Thank you”

“I have some chicken soup and bread, how does it sound?”

“It’s perfect”

He went to the kitchen, took the soup out of the fridge and put it in the microwave. He took some of his bread and spread a big spoon of butter on it, then he pour hot tea on a big cup and sweetened it with honey, adding some drops of lemon at the end. When the microwave beeped the only thing left to put on the tray was the soup.

He came out of the kitchen and saw her next to the fireplace, warming her hands on the fire. The sight of her without her coat made him frown. He could see clearly how thin she was.

_Damn it! I should’ve made her a steak!_

She looked over her shoulder and blushed.

“I-uh… I hope you don’t mind me putting the fire, it was getting cold in here”

“Don’t worry” He said, and put the tray on the table “Now come here and eat”

She approached and sit in front of the food. The steamy soup looked delicious and it smelled even better. Clarke noticed that for the first time in days, smelling food didn’t make her nauseous. Her stomach grumbled a bit more. He simply smiled.

“This looks great”

“Enjoy” He said

While she ate, he went back to the kitchen and cleaned up a bit. From the little window over the counter he watched her. She was shoveling into the soup like there was no tomorrow and taking huge bites of the bread. Not paying attention to what he was doing a big pot slipped off his hands, falling on the floor with a loud clank. He noticed how she flinched on her seat, and it tore through him. How scared she was, how hungry she was.

A moment later he returned to her table. Her plate and cup were empty; she looked at him almost sheepishly. He picked up the tray.

“I’ll get you some more”

“No. No. It’s okay. Thank you again Bellamy”

He took the tray to the kitchen and washed the plates and cup. When he came back to the bar she was heading to the door.

“Wait. What are you doing?” He asked, startling her

She gave him an apologetic smile

“I reconsidered your offer. I can’t take it” she said lowly.

“It’s got a lock”

Her eyes widened “What?”

“The room. It’s got a lock”

“No, you-”

“Don’t worry about it Clarke.” He answered softly “It’s obvious you’re running away from something or someone, but I assure you I won’t hurt you” He gave her a half smile “Also, if someone comes around asking for you I’ll tell them I don’t know you”

Her eyes welled.

“Thank you” She said, voice breaking mid-sentence

“Hey, hey” He said softly “Come on, don’t cry. I never know what to do when a woman cries”

She laughed between tears and lifted her head, wiping them away.

“Sorry for that” she said, hands clenched in front of her “I guess I’m exhausted”

“It’ll be fine” He said in a soft tone “A good night sleep will do wonders” He gently put a hand on her arm and pointed to the stairs “I’ll show you your room”

He led her upstairs, the steps creaking with their weight. They reached an old wooden door, Bellamy opened and led her to a big living room where a worn leather couch was placed in front of a flatscreen. There were two doors on each side of the big room.

“As you can see the rooms are not connected” he said “You don’t even have to share the bathroom with me” He pointed to the door on the right “That’s your room, it’s a bit of a mess”

He showed her the room. It was much like the rest of the house, with the walls covered in photographs and a big four-poster bed in the middle of the room. There was an old dresser to one side and a big mirror next to it. There was a ragged plush bunny over the bed and a wooden rocking horse on a corner.

“It’s a bit messy” he repeated

“It’s fine” she replied “I’ll leave first thing in the morning. You won’t even notice I was here”

“Jesus, Clarke, don’t worry. Even if you need more time you can stay. I’m not using it and it’s not for rent”

He went over a door on the right wall and opened it, showing her the bathroom.

“Like I said, you don’t have to share with me” He smiled and pointed to the dresser “Octavia left some clothes here, she is about your size, you might as well try them on and tell me if they fit”

Clarke didn’t know who Octavia was, but she obviously was important to Bellamy, judging by the softness of his voice and the warmth on his eyes when he spoke about her. She was not comfortable using her clothes, she might be his girlfriend or some-

“She’s my sister” he said abruptly

“Uh?”

“Octavia.”

“Oh! I didn’t mean...”

“It’s okay.” Once again, he gave her a small smile "Do me a favor and get some rest"

And with that, he left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, kudos and comments make me really happy  
> Please tell me what you think about it!  
> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead!  
> As always un-beta'd

And with that, he left the room.

 

Clarke locked the door and moved a chair under the knob, feeling guilty as she did so. She trusted Bellamy, as far as trust for a nice stranger goes. Coming to think about it, if he meant her any harm, he could have already done it, not to mention he was a big man, and a wooden chair would hardly stop him.

She felt extremely vulnerable. She wanted to take a long hot shower, to take the cold out of her weak body, but she couldn’t, so she simply washed her face on the small sink, took one of the pain killers and looked inside some of the drawers until she found a pair of black sweatpants, a big t-shirt and a pair of fuzzy socks.

She stripped carefully and slowly. Her body ached and her head was throbbing, the stress of the last twenty-four hours passing a bill. Before dressing up she looked at her reflection on the mirror. Her breasts, legs and belly were covered in bruises and she ran a trembling finger across them.

Tears welled up in her eyes again and she blinked to rush them away. No more crying, her new life was waiting for her and she wasn’t going into it with tears.

She lay carefully on the bed, turned off the lights and stared at the ceiling. The snow was still falling hard against the windows. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep; she’d hardly slept since Connor started coming home drunk, and even less since she started planning her escape.

But feeling safer than ever, the sound of the falling snow lulled her to sleep.

 

***

 

Bellamy heard how she pulled the lock and how she pushed the chair in front of the door. He stood there for a minute, looking at the shadows of her feet under the door. He was not stupid, he knew she was running from someone, he was almost one hundred percent sure it was a boyfriend or a husband.

What he didn’t understand was why. Why would you take this beautiful young woman and treat her like garbage? What would you get from it? He might not be the kind of man that settles down, hell, he was more of a no-strings-attached man, but he never, _never,_ disrespected a woman.

You don’t have to be a genius to know that a woman you settle with deserves the best kind of affection, deserves to be held and protected, much like Lincoln did with his sister.

He went to the bar, turned off the lights and got up to his room, grabbing one of his old books from his old bookcase. He wanted to stay awake a bit more, just in case she needed something else. He did try to sleep, but sleep avoided him the whole night. He got up at five, went down to the kitchen and made some coffee.

He cleaned the floor, arranged the tables and chairs and laid a fresh fire. The storm had stopped and the windows were frosted and the window sills were covered in snow, but even with the bad weather he knew people would stop by, because, let’s face it, his cooking was _delicious._

At six o’clock he turned the door sign and went to one of the tables, reading as he waited for the first customers.

Ten minutes later Wick came into the bar. He was so covered in winter gear that the only thing visible was his red nose. He took off his scarf and quilted coat and left them on the coat hanger by the door.

“Remind me why I stayed in this frozen hell instead of going back to my warm Texas”

Bellamy smiled at his friend “You did it because of Raven”

Wick scoffed “She wishes”

Bellamy knew better than pursuing this conversation with Wick. For some reason the confident blonde man, who was clearly affected by the beautiful mechanic – based on how fidgety he would get around her – would not accept it. Wick approached the fireplace and added two more logs to the fire.

“You are almost out of wood Bell” Wick said, looking at the logs that were left “If you want, I’ll trade you one of your bacon omelettes for some wood chopping” he offered, stirring the fire

“D’you really think I need your help chopping wood?” Bellamy asked in a funny tone “I decided not to chop wood this morning cause, uh…”

“Cause what?”

“The noise and um,” Bellamy sighed. “I got a woman upstairs”

Wick almost fell and turned around to face his friend with pure shock settled over his face. Bellamy didn’t do this stuff, he didn’t “have women around”. He didn’t even flirt with the town women. When Bellamy wanted action he preferred to go to another town, not wanting to be involved with one of his neighbors, with someone who knew him. He was the epitome of the eternal bachelor. Wick didn’t know how he did it, but it was Bellamy after all, a family man when it came to his sister and mother, but that was it.

Once he recovered from the initial shock, Wick took a seat in front of him.

“A woman?” he asked jokingly

Bellamy grunted “is not what you think” He got up and filled two cups with coffee, returned to his seat and offered one to Wick.

“And what do I think?”

“I gave her O’s old room” He said, ignoring his friend question “I think she is in trouble”

“Huh?”

“I think she’s running or something and she needs help”

“Oh” Wick said, taking a sip of his mug

“Lincoln had a look at her last night but didn’t tell me a thing” he said “and I gave her food and she took it like there was no tomorrow. She wants to go today but I…” he stopped talking, and took a sip of his coffee, avoiding the blonde’s eyes

“What?” Wick asked “You what?”

“She’s so skittish and looks so weak” he ignored him again “I want her to stay here, to recover a bit”

“Mmmmh” Wick said, finishing up his coffee “it’s probably a good idea”

“You think?”

“Yes, I mean, if she wants to. You can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to” he got up “Just talk to her, try not to scare her more”

Wick took his coat and scarf and dressed up, mumbling something about the awful weather as he did so. When he finished he looked at Bellamy and said a muffled goodbye to him, leaving the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this wasn't as long as you'd expect but I've been super busy and I rather upload a short chapter than not uploading.  
> Please comment/review to know what you think!  
> Like always let me know of any mistakes, english is not my first language.  
> thank you for the kudos and the love,
> 
> \- J


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOAH I can't believe this story reached 100+ kudos, it's amazing, thankyouthankyouthankyou! I guess I can't stop now, can I? Anyway, thanks a lot for your comments, adn again, thanks a lot for the kudos.  
> As always, un-beta'd, blame everything on me

The sound of a dog’s bark brought her out of her peaceful slumber, and Clarke smiled at the warm sensation of the sheets and the soft mattress. This was the best sleep she’s gotten in years, she couldn’t believe how easily you can fall asleep when you are not scared, when you don’t have to be hyper aware of the door lock, or the loud staggering steps of a drunk.

She got off the bed and went to the bathroom, shivering at the feel of the cold floor under her fuzzy socks. When she sat on the toilet and looked down at her underwear, she noticed it, small drops of fresh blood on it, her breath caught on her throat at all the possibilities. She got up quickly, went to the room and scrambled through the drawers until she found something warm enough to wear outside, she needed to get to that doctor’s office as soon as possible.

When she opened the door Bellamy was standing there with a wooden tray on his hands. There was a deliciously looking omelet and French toast on it, with a glass of orange juice and a steamy cup of tea as well. He smiled sheepishly when she almost crashed against him.

“Sorry, I was going to knock” He said “I hope you are hungry”

Clarke looked at the plate and her stomach rumbled. What was with this man and his cooking skills? She’s been unable to take a bite since she got pregnant, and before that she would eat what she could cook, which was disgusting, because after a month or so of living together Connor would stop taking her out; and now there she was, unable to resist this man cooking.

She nodded softly and allowed him to enter the room. He came in and put the tray on the dresser, then he stood there, looking around the room noticing the evidence of her stay there, the unmade bed, the clothes around the floor, the open curtains.

“Thank you” she said lowly “It looks delicious Mr. Blake”

“I’ll leave so you can eat” he said, smiling “Come downstairs when you’re ready, I want to make you an offer”

He left, closing the door on his way out. She grabbed the plate and the tea and sat cross-legged on the bed, trying to enjoy the food and the sweet beverage.  She wanted to run to the doctor’s office to get some answers, to find if there was something wrong with the baby. Losing it was the worst thing that could happen to her, this baby was the reason she left Connor and the chance to start a new life, her baby gave her the strength to run away.

With a trembling hand she left the empty cup and plate on the tray and took everything downstairs.  Bellamy was sitting on a table, talking to a slim, dark haired man. She cleared her throat and both men turned to see her. The dark haired man looked at Bellamy jokingly, he just ignored him.

“Hi!” the stranger said cheerfully “I’m Jasper Jordan” He extended his hand at her and she just looked at the tray with a smile on her face.

“Oh!” he exclaimed “Right” he took the tray out of her hands and put it on the bar.

“Jasper” Bellamy said “She’s Clarke, my, um, guest”

“Guest, that’s how they call it now” Jasper said with grin.

Bellamy gave him a hard look, Clarke suspected it was something he used frequently with Jasper.

“Well” Jasper said “I think I better go outside and get some wood” He walked to the door and opened it, turning one last time to look at Clarke “It was nice to meet you”

“You too” she said and he left. She turned to Bellamy with a timid expression “Can I ask you a favor?” she asked softly

“Yes, whatever you need” he replied.

“Um, uh, can you take me to the doctor again?” she asked lowly.

“Why?” he asked, his brow furrowing in a worried expression “Do you feel bad or something?”

“No, no” she paused “I just… I need to ask him some questions”

“Okay then, I’ll take you right now” he said, taking the tray off the bar, smiling at the empty plate and cup “Let me take this to the kitchen and tell Jasper to take care of everything while we’re gone”

She nodded and sat on one of the tables, waiting for him to be ready. He took the tray to the kitchen and ran outside. Through the window, Clarke noticed how he approached Jasper and asked him to keep an eye on the bar, Jasper made a joke – not a god one, based on his friend’s expression – and Bellamy slapped the back of his head, like an angry parent.

Clarke got up the chair when Bellamy came back inside. He took his coat and beanie from the coat rack and put them on.

“We’re ready to go” he said with a smile

“Are we walking?”

“Yeah, it’s just down the street.”

“Really? Cause last night it seemed like a long way”

“It was because of the storm, trust me”

She did. For some unknown reason she trusted this stranger. So she simply nodded and followed him out of the bar, walking beside him across the snow-covered streets.

 

***

 

Octavia Blake was sitting on the front steps of the clinic, drinking a steamy cup of hot chocolate while her too-sexy-for-this-world fiancée was unloading some medical supplies and taking them inside the office. She was especially fond of the way Lincoln would bent to pick some boxes, giving her a perfect view of those jeans she loved that much.

She then noticed two people approaching them, the sight was something Octavia had never expected to see. Her brother, Bellamy, held the door of the bar open for a woman, a young woman. They walked down the street one next to the other, Bellamy talking to her it what seemed soft tones and leaning close to hear her responses. It was utterly amazing. Her brother was a man of few words, he was kind, but he certainly was not _this_ kind and delicate to strangers.

She stood up as the came closer to the clinic. Bellamy smiled at her and she ran to give him a big hug, the trademark Blake siblings hug. He kissed her temple and turned them both towards the stranger.

“Octavia, this is Clarke, she’s staying in your room for a while” he said, motioning to the blonde woman “Clarke, this is my sister Octavia”

Clarke offered the brunette a shaking hand. She took it with a firm grip and looked at her from head to toes, taking in her appearance, she looked thin, pale and her expression was one of terror. She knew then why Bellamy was being kind, this woman had a lot of troubles going on, she noticed on the way she would look over her shoulder nerviously and wince over the loud sounds.

“Nice to meet you” Octavia said, letting go of her hand

Clarke gave her a timid nod “Nice to meet you too”

Lincoln came out of the building and neared with a smile. He gave Bellamy a hug and touched Clarke’s arm softly. She looked at him and saw a lot of questions on the man’s face.

She gulped.

“Um, doctor Lincoln” she said “can we… can you…”

“She has some questions” Bellamy said for her

“Oh yeah?” he asked “Then follow me Clarke, we can talk in the office”

“Okay”

“Uh, Clarke” Bellamy said. She stopped and turned to look at him “Do you want me to go with you?”

“Oh, no Mr. Blake” she answered “Thank you for showing me the way”

The blonde and the doctor walked inside the building. Octavia waited until they were inside and punched his brother's arm.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“Not telling me you have a female guest, _Mr Blake_ ”

“But- Your boyfriend knew! Why didn’t you punch him?”

“She’s one of his patients, you know he’s top secret with everything that has to do with the clinic” she said “Now tell me everything about her”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this has been probably the slowest of burns but I want to give this story a good structure, I promise I'll try to write longer chapters so we can advance faster, and get to the bellarke part soon (Also i'm practicing my smut writing so you can get some goodies when the time is right) ;)  
> Love,  
> -J


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! I was supposed to upload this yesterday but I had an endoscopy done two days ago and spent most of day sleeping the propofol off.  
> anyway, here's the chapter, as always un-beta'd.  
> Enjoy!

The blonde and the doctor walked inside the building. Octavia waited until they were inside and punched his brother's arm.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“Not telling me you have a female guest, _Mr. Blake_ ”

“But- Your boyfriend knew! Why didn’t you punch him?”

“She’s one of his patients, you know he’s top secret with everything that has to do with the clinic” she said “Now tell me everything about her”

 

Clipboard in hand, Lincoln led Clarke to his office. It hurt to see her like that, to see any woman like that. He wondered how the beast that did this to her could live with that; the thought of someone hitting a woman was bad enough, but hitting a pregnant woman was even worse.

He gave her a gown and waited for her to be ready on the exam table, like she did the night before. She certainly looked better, less tired, her hair brighter and less pale. He checked her blood pressure, carefully putting the cuff around her arm, trying not to hurt her. When he removed her gown to auscultate her chest, he had to concentrate on not to gasp.

Lincoln looked at her, her eyes glassy.

“Clarke, um, I didn’t ask you this last night but… I, um, have you been raped?”

She simply shook her head. With Connor, the lines between nonconsensual and consensual sex were really blurry. _Like she could say "No" to him._

“Hmmm” Lincoln muttered, clearly doubtful..

He had no experience with battered women. He did learn about it in medical school, but thankfully every man in Mount Weather seemed to have a big heart. In any case, Clarke showed every symptom, including the fact that she wouldn’t consider her sexual encounters with her abuser rape, even when it clearly was, sensing sex a sort of a duty with her perpetrator.

“Do you think I’m losing the baby?” she whispered and her voice sounded so broken he wanted to tell her that her baby was fine, but he was not so sure about it.

“Uh, Clarke, I can’t really tell without an ultrasound” he told her “Have you had an ultrasound yet?”

“No, I haven’t even been to the gynecologist yet”

“Okay, how bad is the bleeding?” he asked

“It’s just spotting, less than my period”

“Any blood in your urine?”

She shook her head. Lincoln sighed.

“Clarke, being completely honest with you, if it were up to me, I’d admit you to the hospital”

“No!” she exclaimed “I can’t – he would –”

“Okay, okay” he rubbed his hands against his eyes. He wanted to help her, but his options were really limited “Let’s see what I can do, please lay down”

She carefully reclined on the exam table, avoiding eye contact; he gently removed the gown and was again shocked by the sight of her bruised body. Lincoln palpated her abdomen carefully, noticing how Clarke winced at some of the contact.

“Well, I’m afraid I’ll have to perform a pelvic examination” he said “Are you OK with that?” he asked. She nodded “Okay, slide down”

Once she was in position, Lincoln pulled on his gloves and positioned himself in front of her, sitting on his metal stool. He put some mineral oil on his gloves and examined her external genitalia and gently inserted two fingers, pressing down on her lower abdomen, trying to feel the size of the uterus. She said she was just over four weeks, which meant he could hardly tell her size with the size of a non-pregnant woman. When he pulled out his fingers his gloves were covered in blood, not a lot of it, but enough to be worried.

“We’re done” he said, getting off the stool “Our options are really limited, but I guess we can still use them”

“Can you perform an ultrasound?” she asked

“We don’t have that resource here” he answered “But I have a friend, Niko, he has a portable one, I guess I could call him and ask him to come and bring it” Clarke smiled in relief “Until then, you could take a pregnancy test, if the fetus was still viable, it should come out positive”

Clarke nodded and went to the bathroom to change into her – borrowed – clothes. When she came out Lincoln had a small pink box on his hand, it was a pregnancy test.

“I imagined it would be better if I give you one” he said “If you were to buy it to the drug store the whole town would know in less than an hour, and I guess you don’t want that”

“No” she said softly.

“Listen Clarke, I know this has been really difficult for you, and you want to escape as soon as possible, but until we perform the ultrasound, I’d like you to get some bed rest.” Clarke shook her head. He continued “even if the baby were alive, you still have a big risk of a miscarriage, the best for your pregnancy is for you to rest”

“But what if he finds me? What if he comes here?” she said, her voice shaky and broken

“If he finds you here, I don’t like his chances”

“But he – he has a gun” she replied

“Clarke, every house in this place has at least a handgun, this place is full of hunters”

“Um, Mr. Blake said I could stay as long as I want but I don’t’ want to be a burden and he… he’s sort of scary looking, you know, he’s really big and his voice is really deep”

Lincoln chuckled. “Oh, I know what you mean, when I started dating Octavia I thought he was going to kill me in my sleep. But he’s… good, gentle as a lamb and extremely loyal” he said “It takes a little time getting used to him”

“I... I don’t know”

“You could come to our place” he suggested “or you can even stay here, we have a couple of rooms upstairs for our patients. But I can guarantee you that Bellamy can protect you better than we can”

“I really don’t want to burden my problems on all of you” she said “You’ve been really nice”

“Well, it might surprise you but this town is a box of broken toys, we all had our problems when we got here, you wouldn’t be the first” he smiled “And we can protect you, Bellamy can keep an eye on you. You have no idea how lucky it was that you stumbled into this town.”

 

***

 

Octavia listened carefully at his brother’s explanation of Clarke’s situation. She didn’t like what Bellamy was getting into, he really didn’t know this woman or who she was running from. He was so determined to help her that it was very unlike him. She listened with awe at how passionate he seemed to be toward this woman’s protection.

“…I told her she could stay here, in your room” he said “Do you think is a good idea? We can protect her”

_I can protect her_

“Is that all it is?” Octavia asked “She is in _some_ trouble? You don’t know what that is?”

Bellamy just shrugged.

“You don’t know her Bell, you have no idea why she is running, who she is running from”

“Believe me O,” he said, and clenched his gloved hands into fists “I’d love to see _who_ ”

“Bellamy, if you want her to stay, she stays” she said “I’m gonna step out and let you handle this however you want to do it. Just... be careful”

"You have nothing to worry about"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have a small time jump (If I keep making this day by day I'll end up with hundreds of chapters)  
> Thank you for all your comments and kudos, I can't believe how nice you've been  
> Comments and kudos are appreciated  
> I love you very very much
> 
> \- J


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO'S BACK?!
> 
> Oh my, I'm so flattered by all the kudos and the love. Thanks a lot for your support and your patience after my surgery, I feel a lot better now.  
> Like always, un-beta'd.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Bellamy, if you want her to stay, she stays” she said “I’m gonna step out and let you handle this however you want to do it, just… be careful”

“You have nothing to worry about”

 

 

Bellamy was surprised when Clarke came back from Lincoln deciding to stay a couple of extra days, she seemed determined to take off to wherever she was going when he found her. She walked heavily up the stairs to her room and stayed there all afternoon. Bellamy tried not to feel too bad about this, if Clarke was sick she probably wanted to rest a bit, god knows she needed to.

After everybody left for the day, he cleaned up the bar and washed the dishes. He noticed his mother’s cookbooks, Bellamy rarely used them, most of those recipes where to fussy for a bar. But he had tender memories of his mother using them to make him and Octavia cookies. His mother, she has been a delicate thing, high-principled, soft spoken but stern. And here came Bellamy, more than nine pounds at birth. He didn’t remember his father, but he knew he looked a lot like him, Octavia, on the other hand, was the one who inherited her mother looks, a delicate – but strong – woman, and he was sure he inherited her character.

He checked the ingredients, the only thing missing were chocolate chips, he decided to replace it with peanut butter, which would make soft, sweet peanut butter cookies.

While he mixed the ingredients, his mind filled up with memories of his beloved mother. He remembered them sitting together in mass, little Octavia on his legs, playing with his nose and counting the freckles on his face. While he rolled the dough in little balls he remembered when her mother taught Octavia how to drive their old rusty Volkswagen, her voice all flustered and upset. _Jesus, Mary and Joseph Octavia! Slower! Gentler! I should have sent you to ballet lessons instead of soccer!_

She died not so long after, the summer before O’s sophomore year in high school, _leukemia,_ the doctor had said. She never told them she was sick, it just happened one day. He took the insurance money, sold their old shitty flat and moved with his sister to Mount Weather.

 

 

The knock on the door made Clarke sat up with a sudden start that jolted her bruised and sore body. She got up and put on a sweater, walking toward the door. When she opened the door a smiling Bellamy was holding a plate with cookies – that smelled delicious, by the way – in one hand and a glass of milk in the other.

“I made cookies” he said, a sheepish smile on his face “thought you might want some”

She smiled and received the cookies and the milk.

“Thank you” she said softly “this looks delicious”

Clarke ate the cookies slowly, sharing them with Bellamy. For the first time in too long, she felt okay.

 

Early the next morning Bellamy called Jasper before he came to work and asked him to bring his best friend and his girlfriend. When the three of them arrived he poured them each a cup of coffee and sat with then in a booth.

“Okay, listen up” Bellamy said “There’s a woman upstairs in O’s old room” he ignored the smug smile on Jasper’s face “She’s…uh, she’s staying a while, it looks like… well, like she’s in some trouble” he said “so… we’re not going to say her name around in case someone’s looking for her. Her name is Clarke… she’s going to stay until she feels better”

“Holy god Bell” Monty said, concerned “What are you doing?”

“Well… I’m looking out for her”

 

***

 

Bellamy had no experience living with a woman who wasn’t his mother or sister, and certainly he wasn’t planning on doing it, ever. He liked being alone. He figured he would run the bar, hunt, have regular reunions with his friends, a one night stand here and there, but he couldn’t see his life changing much. When his sister got engaged he was really happy for her, Lincoln was a great man. It just didn’t change his own life.  One of the reasons he liked Mount Weather – it was less obvious he’d always be alone.

Then his life began to change in days. Really, in hours.

Clarke would go down the stairs in her pajamas before he opened the bar. She liked to eat her breakfast at the kitchen counter and watch while Bellamy diced some vegetables, shredded cheese or whipped eggs for his famous omelets. Then she would help sweeping the bar, no matter how much he insisted she didn’t have to. Deep inside he found this not only helpful, but awful pleasant.

He liked to leave the kitchen light on, in case she needed something, he liked to listen to her sing lowly when she thought he wasn’t near and he liked to make cookies for her everyday.

On the fourth day of her stay, at Lincoln convincing she went to the clinic to get a checkup. Lincoln’s friend, Nyko, was in town and wanted to check on her. Bellamy made no speculation of why a gynecologist needed to see her – he was just happy she was getting the attention she needed.

He knew she was running from someone, some who hurt her. So he did what he’d done best since he was in school, he got his old computer out and read and learned a lot about domestic abuse and laws regarding the issue. He had done this because he needed to understand her situation, how scare she was, how hurt she was, it didn’t matter if it were a boyfriend or a husband, either were equally dangerous.

He read about the psychology of this situation. How you could be sucked in, manipulated, terrified, how these monsters would turn every situation in their favor. Then he found something that chilled him to the bones. Battered women who fled, who ran away and were found – they were often killed.

So while Clarke was off with Lincoln, Bellamy called his best friend. He liked to go hunting and fishing with him. Nathan Miller, Mount Weather deputy. Bellamy told him about Clarke.

“She doesn’t know I know” Bellamy said “Jesus Miller… she’s so scared, I’ve been reading about it and she has all the symptoms. She running for her life”

“Man, look, she needs to press charges” Nathan said “If there’s evidence she’s been battered in the past, if he has a record, she might be able to get a restraining order or whatever she needs to stay safe”

“But she’d have to go _back”_ Bellamy said, a note of desperation in his voice

“Bell. She wouldn’t necessarily have to go back on her own.” He paused “how into this woman are you?”

“It’s not like that, man. I’m trying to help her out” he said “If I were able to help her, to stop this, it would make me feel like I’d done something that mattered, for once”

“Bellamy!” Nathan laughed “I’ve been your friend for years and I saw what you did with O, how you worked to give her what she needed, you mattered every damn day, for God’s sake!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, I love comments and kudos ;)
> 
> \- J


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, more than 200 kudos, I'm really happy.  
> I hope you liked this chapter, I had to write it in a rush because I'll be very very busy this weekend.  
> Thanks for your comments and kudos in the last one.
> 
> Like always, un-beta'd  
> Blame me for any mistake.

“Bellamy!” Nathan laughed “I’ve been your friend for years and I saw what you did with O, how you worked to give her what she needed, you mattered every damn day, for God’s sake!” He exclaimed “anyway, where did you learn all this stuff, huh?”

“I have a computer Miller” Bellamy answered. Then paused for a few seconds “Would you do me a favor?”

“I guess”

“There’s one thing I can’t get online – I wanna know who she is, how guilty he is and what can I do to help. All I know is her name…”

“Bell, man, I’m not supposed to do that”

“Oh, C’mon!” Bellamy said “There could actually be a crime in here, all you have to do is look Miller”

“What if it’s not good news?” Nathan asked

“I am prepared for the worst”

“Then be. Cause it might be”

Bellamy swallowed hard and hoped it would be okay. “Thanks” he said “Go ahead and hurry please”

 

***

Clarke had gone with Lincoln to see his friend Nyko. He examined her and performed and ultrasound and determined she was actually seven weeks pregnant. He also showed her the small heartbeat in the middle of the tiny mass that didn’t look like a baby at all. But it gave her hope. She had made the right decision, almost too late, but she did it.

This pregnancy was an accident, of course. Connor didn’t want children, apparently children interfered with his focus, which was his job and his possessions. Clarke being the most important one. He always talked about children in a disgusting manner, he called them demons and some other things she didn’t want to remember. Perhaps this baby precipitated his last beating, she’d told him a couple of days before running away.

The larger question was how could Clarke be so relieved to learn her baby had survived when Connor mere touch repelled her? She just was. She’d come to think of her baby as the only good thing that could come out of the biggest mistake of her life.

 

When she returned to the bar she found Bellamy making cookies again. He would make them everyday, one day they would be peach cookies, and the next day salted caramel cookies or simply chocolate chips cookies. It didn’t matter, she ate all of them.

He was kneading and squeezing the dough, laughing at the commentary on the radio show he was listening to. Such an uncomplicated scene, she thought. So many times when Connor was stressing out and getting himself all worked up about his job or the financial pressures of their lifestyle she had told him that simplifying things would actually make things better. 

Of course she didn’t want to be poor and worked to death, but she could be happy in a smaller place with a more relaxed boyfriend. But no, Connor would have none of that, he got the big edgy loft in a high secured and exclusive building in the middle of the city. More space than they could ever need and holding on to it was killing him, and, of course, the way he would relieve that stress was beating her.

So, there she was. And her baby had made it. She had to get going, to that address in Minneapolis, to the first step in her escape. She had not blocked the door since her first night and she thought she’d give herself another day to rest, to heal and then leave in the quiet of the night. If the there was no snow, the roads wouldn’t be so difficult and it would be easy to travel at night and unnoticed.

There was a soft knock on the door and for a moment she wondered who was, but of course there was only one possibility. She pulled the door open and there stood Bellamy, looking nervous, in spite of his height and size, he looked like a teenager. He might even have a soft blush on his cheeks.

“I closed up the bar” he said “I was thinking about a short drink before calling it a night. How about you? Wanna come down for a little while?”

“For a drink?” she asked

He shrugged “For whatever you want” he smiled “I thought you might be sleep”

“After that overdose of cookies?”

“Yeah I probably gave you too many, sorry”

“Don’t worry, I really like them.” She said softly “Sometimes what you like it’s better than what is right or logical”

He nodded. It was something he understood after his mother death.

“You have more tea…?”

“Sure. I keep a lot of tea on the kitchen, old ladies really like it” he took on a shocked look and his cheeks blushed even more  “I didn’t mean…”

“A cup of tea would be nice. Good”

“Great” he said, turning and preceding her down the stairs, looking almost grateful to get away.

He got busy brewing the tea in the kitchen, Clarke went into the bar and sat at the table where she saw his drink by the fire. He came with a steamy mug of tea, just like that first night.

“Did you have a good time with Lincoln today?” he asked

“Yes.” She scrambled around her thoughts, trying to keep the conversation going “How was your day today?”

“Same old.” He answered “I always get the same customers, except when is hunting season, then I get a bunch of first time hunters”

She smiled. This was so strange for her, this quiet talks by the fire, this domesticity. It was weird to have this with a stranger when she didn’t have it with the man she was supposed to get married to.

“I bet everyone loves your cooking” she said “Where did you learn to cook?”

“Certainly not a school” he answered “My mother taught me. She showed me how to cook in the way she did before everyone started worrying about their weight”

“She must be so proud of you”

“She was. She died when Octavia was still in school”

“Oh, I’m so sorry” she said lowly

“Thanks. It’s okay. We’ve had a good life”

“What did you do when you lost your mother? Did you go live with aunts or something?

“Oh, no. My mother lost contact with her family when she got pregnant.” He answered “Being single, pregnant and catholic is not a good mix apparently” he said, shaking his head “We moved here, there was this man that my mother knew when she was young, Marcus Kane, he offered me a job and here I am”

“What happened to your mom?” she asked, hoping she was not being too nosy

“Leukemia"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think and let me know if you have any questions or want to correct something.
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated  
> Love and hugs
> 
> \- Jess


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT IS THIS?! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE WEEK?!!??
> 
> The truth is that I got a sudden burst of inspiration and I wanted to write.  
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos, I'm glad to say that finally things are moving up a bit.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> (Don't forget it's un-beta'd)

“What happened to your mom?” she asked, hoping she was not being too nosy

“Leukemia” after a moment of respectful silence, he kept on talking “She never told us she was sick, and we never suspected a thing. She was always so cheerful, so happy, we never thought something that serious was happening” he laughed “I always thought it was unfair she died without having any exciting moments, her life was pretty boring from my point of view.” He paused a moment “turns out she had a pretty wild life before having us. Marcus told me she gave my grandparents headaches all the time.”

“You must miss her a lot” Clarke said, sipping her tea in front of the fire, trying to remember when she last had a conversation like this. Unhurried, nonthreatening, in front of a friendly fire.

“I do. This is going to sound ridiculous, especially since I’m no kid, and it’s been years – sometimes I pretend she’s back there, in that old flat we lived in, and that I’m just getting my stuff together to go see her” he finished with a sad smile.

“That doesn’t sound stupid…”

“Is there anybody you really miss?” he asked

The question caused her to go still, her cup froze in midair. Talking about her parents hurt a lot, she didn’t want to do it. “I had a really good friend, a childhood friend. We lost touch, I miss him sometimes”

“You know where he is?” he asked her

She shook her head “He got engaged and moved” she said “I wrote a couple of letters… then my letters came back”

He didn’t want to be in touch with her; he knew things were bad, he actually tried to convince her that Connor was a bad man. Wells hated Connor. Connor hated Wells. He had tried to help, briefly, but Connor ran him off and Clarke, out of shame, rejected Wells’ offer to escape. What was her friend supposed to do? “How’d you get close to Jasper?” she asked him, changing the subject.

“He tried to hit on Octavia when we came here”

“What did you do?”

“I put the fear of god in him” he said with a smile “Then she met Maya and his crush on my sister was gone”

“Is he your best friend?” she asked

“Well, he is one of my closest friends, but my best friend is Nathan Miller, you don’t know him – which is weird, cause he likes to come here a lot”

He smiled, remembering the first time he met Nathan Miller. It was just a few days after their arrival to town and he and Octavia got into a big fight. She stormed out of the bar and Bellamy, with the pain of her mother’s death still too fresh, and the weight of his new responsibilities heavy in his heart, sat in front of the fireplace. He had always been so rock hard, so strong and stoic but this was too much for him – he remembered it like it was yesterday. There in front of the fireplace of his new home – that didn’t feel at all like one – he started to cry.

 _“What’s going on man?”_ he heard a soft voice by his side.

 _“It’s my mom, I miss my mom”_ he said in between sobs, not caring about this stranger seeing him crying.

_“Well where is she? Can’t you call her or something?”_

_“She’s dead”_ Bellamy said _“she died”_ he sniffled _“I-I’m sorry. I’ve never done this before. Cried like this. I swear”_ and he kept on crying as he said that

_“We cried over people we lose, buddy. It’s okay”_

_“I know I am not supposed to cry, I am not supposed to soil her memory with crying about it.”_

_“Don’t say that. If you don’t cry over something like that the tears turn into snakes that eat you from the inside out. Crying is required”_

And he did. He cried next to that stranger. When the tears stopped, the stranger stayed with him for a while and told him how he had lost his mother too, and Bellamy told him about his sister, and how every time he looked at her and thought about the future, the pain of losing his mother came pouring out.

 _“I’m Bellamy, by the way”_ he offered him his hand

The stranger shook it _“I’m Nathan. If you ever want to talk about something, I come here almost everyday”_

And that was it.

“It’s not good to lose touch with people who mean a lot” he said after a moment “ever think of trying to find that friend again?”

“I haven’t thought about that in a while”

“If you ever want to try, I could help you”

“How?”

“On the computer. You can look things up, it’s kind of slow, but it works. Think about it”

She said she would. Then she said she was really tired and had to get some sleep, so they both said their good-nights. Clarke went up the stairs to her room and he did the same after he put out the fire.

Later in her bed, looking at the ceiling, she decided she’d better get moving. She couldn’t afford to get comfortable here. No more cozy little chats, no more late night questions. Attachments were completely out of the question.

 

***

 

Clarke got the suitcase ready. It was an old, dusty suitcase she found under the bed. She figured Octavia wouldn’t miss her clothes or at least she wouldn’t need them as much as Clarke needed them.

She pulled a hundred dollar bill out of her pocket and put it on the dresser. Then she sat on the edge of the bed, still as stone. Hands between her knees, she waited. At midnight she put on her shoes and crept quietly down the stairs, not even a board squeaked.

Bellamy had left a light on the kitchen for her. This is the first time she’d come down after bedtime, but she suspected he left that light on for her every night. She tiptoed stealthily around the kitchen and listened carefully. No sound.

She’d located a flashlight in the kitchen when she’d been helping Bellamy with the cleaning, a stroke of luck. Up to that point, the best idea she could come up with was taking one of the candles from one of the tables. She took a knife from the drawer and slipped quietly out the back kitchen door. Once behind the bar, she was relieved to see no lights on in Bellamy’s windows. She opened the door of his old truck and crouched down the steering wheel, trying to guess what was the wire – or wires – she needed to start the truck. Her hands were shaking as she looked at the wires, she would try each and every single one if that’s what she needed to.

“Getting back on the road again, Clarke?” Bellamy asked.

She jumped and dropped the knife and the flashlight. Straightening, she felt her heart stammering against her chest and her breath cutting off. The flashlight lit a path along the ground that illuminated his feet. Then he took a few steps toward her and came into complete view.

“You’ve watched way too many movies.” he said “That isn’t going to do the trick. Everyone here knows that’s my truck, if someone sees you driving my truck in the middle of the night – they’re gonna know right off”

She felt her eyes well up with tears. Something like that would never occurred to her. She shivered in the cold night, her hands shaking. Inside, her stomach was gripped in a tight, hard knot.

“Don’t panic” he said “I really need my truck, but if you need it that much I can give you the keys, I can borrow Lincoln’s truck till I get a new one”

A tear rolled down her cheek and she stooped to pick up the flashlight “I…uh…I left some money. Upstairs. For the room and the food. It’s not much but…”

“Clarke, come on. You do something like that, it makes me look so bad. You gotta know I never cared about money”

She hiccupped her tears back “What did you cared about?”

“Come on” he said, reaching a hand out toward her “It’s cold out here. Come back inside, I’ll make you some coffee so you don’t fall asleep on the road, then I’ll call Nathan and tell him to look out for you on the road, if that’ll make you feel safer, even if you don’t really need him to”

She stayed out of his reach, but walked alongside “Why do you say that? That I don’t need that?”

“No one’s looking for you” he said “At least not officially. You’re still okay”

“How do you know that?” she asked, ready to fall apart in sobs.

“I’ll explain” he said “I’ll throw a log in the fire, get you warmed up and we’ll talk. Then you can go and I’ll can Nathan if you still want to. But I’m pretty sure after we talk about it, you’ll probably want to go back upstairs and sleep till morning, you can always go tomorrow, drive in the daylight, besides,” he said, opening the kitchen door for her “you’re not dressed to be out in the snow, just like the night I found you”

She started to cry as she walked into the kitchen, pressing her fingers against her lips. She felt like a caught felon, it made her feel even worse that he was being so nice to her “I’m not used to the snow” she said with a whimper.

Bellamy turned to face her. Hand pressed against her mouth, eyes overflowing, she seemed to jerk with the effort not to add sound to her crying. Then, slowly and carefully he pulled her by her shoulder toward him, against his big chest, gently circling her with his arms. And then it happened, she collapsed from inside, sobbing against him. She was racked with tears.

“You’ve been holding that in too long, haven’t you?” he said softly “I’ve been there, all right, It’s okay Clarke. I know you are scared and worried. But believe, it gets better”

She doubted it, but she was helpless. All she could do was cry and shake her head. She tried to remember when someone had last pulled her sweetly into strong arms and tried to make her feel safe. Long ago, so long ago she couldn’t remember. Not even Connor in the early days, when he was at his most manipulative form. No, _he_ would cry. He’d hit her, beat her, then _he_ would cry and she’d would comfort _him._

Bellamy rocked her back and forth in the dimly lit kitchen. He did so for a long time until her sobs started to quiet down. Then, with a hand on her back, pushed her through the kitchen into the bar. He directed her to the same chair she sat on just a day before. He stirred up the fire and threw on a new log. He went behind the bar and fixed her a brandy then walked toward the fireplace and put the glass in front of her.

“I have to be ready to drive” she said

“You won’t be any good to drive unless you calm down a bit. Just take a sip, then if you want coffee I’ll give you some” he sat down in the chair next to her and with his elbows on his knees, leaned toward her “When I picked you up from that storm, I had no idea what happened to you, but I knew it wasn’t good.” He paused “You told me your name. I called Nathan and gave it to him. He checked you out and found the reports filled against him, your fiancé. All of those reports were for domestic battery” he shrugged “I didn’t need to know much more than that, did I?”

Clarke’s eyes closed briefly, the she opened again, focused on his face. She lifted the brandy to her lips and took a tiny sip, not confirming or denying a thing.

Bellamy went on “He hasn’t reported you missing, so no law’s enforcement is looking for you. I don’t know what your plan is Clarke, but if he is as powerful as it seems…” he swallowed “If he finds you, he could – he could go hard on you” he sighed “You don’t even know how to steal a car. There isn’t much devious going on in that head of yours”

A huff of rueful laughter escaped her lips. Maybe that had been her problem; she wasn’t sneaky enough.

“Maybe you have someplace to go where they’ll keep you safe – that’s a better idea.” He said “I just hope wherever that is, there’s a bunch of big, mean, angry guys like me and Lincoln around, ready, on the off chance that disgusting son of a bitch hunts you down and finds you”

“I don’t have a lot of choices” she whispered “I have to get away”

“Of course you do” he said “Do you know there’s one more way to go? Given his record you won’t have any trouble getting a restraining order…” she was shaking her head, closing her eyes again, another tear spilling down her cheek, but Bellamy went on “…and even if he ignores it, it keeps the law on your side. You ever think of these things Clarke?”

“How do you know all these things? Did Nathan tell you?”

“No. If I wanna know something I investigate” he said

“Then do you know while I’m trying to do that, he’s going to kill me? He’s mean and crazy. He’ll kill me”

“No if you stay here” Bellamy said softly

She was stunned silent for a moment. The she said “I can’t stay here Bellamy, I’m pregnant”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MWUHAHAHAHAH  
> Don't get used to the long chapters.
> 
> PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what did you think about this chapter cause I am proud of this one.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad you liked the last chapter. I'm updating today cause I have two freaking shifts tomorrow and the day after so I'll be pretty busy.  
> Anyway, I tried to find words to describe how awesome it felt to read all you comments but I couldn't do it, just be sure I smiled with each and every single one of them,  
> Thank you!

“No if you stay here” Bellamy said softly

She was stunned silent for a moment. The she said “I can’t stay here Bellamy, I’m pregnant”.

Then it was Bellamy’s turn to show shock. Silent and dark. It settled into his eyes and over his expression slowly as he sat back in his chair, then he stood. He went behind the bar and poured himself a drink, throwing it back. When he returned to the chair by the fire, he looked at her with an expression she could not identify “Did he know?” he asked “When he beat you, did he know you were pregnant?”

She looked at him with a painful expression and nodded, looking away, pursing her lips tight. Intellectually, she knew none of this was her fault, she’d studied the subject, she knew about domestic violence, but there was an emotional misfire in her brain that said, you chose him, you allowed yourself to get pregnant and on top of that didn’t get out in time, you let it happen, you screwed it up, you never ran in time and never saw it coming even when it was plain as day.

“You ever been to a shelter?” he asked her. She nodded.

“Here are your choices” Bellamy said calmly. “You can stay here and try to get your things in order so when you leave you’re prepared to face that bastard instead of hiding for the rest of your life. It’s okay if you stay here – Lincoln would be available when you need any medical help, you can help out in the kitchen if you want to, so you don’t feel like you’re taking advantage on me.” He smiled “And if you happen to run into that son of a bitch around here, we’re ready for him” he paused “We’ll be just like a shelter. Like any other shelter” he paused “Or you can go if you want – continue on with your plan. Whatever that plan is. In any case you don’t have to run in the night, it is safer in daylight, huh?” he stood up “You sit a minute, think about your choices, have a little more of that brandy – I’m sure it won’t hurt that baby, a tiny sip of brandy never hurt anyone, and I’m pretty sure you need it. I’ll go check that the truck has enough gas for a long ride and then I’ll bring you one of my coats, so you’ll be warmer” he smiled and left her. She could hear him going through his back door. She took a tiny sip of brandy that burned her throat and miraculously settled her stomach and her nerves.  Or maybe it was the news that Connor was not looking for her.

A while later, Bellamy came back from his room with a big coat on his arms. It looked like the coat she first saw him in, that night on the road.

“This is probably one of my warmest coats” he said, holding the coat out to her “Don’t worry, I won’t miss it”

She put on the coat and caressed the fabric. It was worn out, but it was still pretty comfy. It was clear this was not only one of his warmest coats, but also one of his favourites. He put his hand in his pockets “Think you can get a little rest tonight? Or do you still feel like you have to go right now? I could brew you up some coffee or some tea if you wanna get out of here, I think I even have a thermos I could-”

She stoop up, leaving the half-finished brandy on the table, tightening her grip on the coat. “I’m going back to bed” she said softly “I’ll leave tomorrow morning, after breakfast”

“If that’s what you want” he said.

 

Clarke awakened to the dim light of morning streaking through the curtains and the sound of an axe striking wood. She rolled onto her side and looked at Bellamy’s coat on the bed beside her. She knew she should think about this for a while. It scared her to take a chance like this, but it didn’t scare her any more than driving to an unknown address and change her whole life. She thought she was not devious enough to pull it off.

She’d like to think this whole situation with Connor had taught her one or two things about people. If anything, in anyway made her feel threatened or caused her radar to go up, she’d be gone in a flash. She wouldn’t bother stealing old trucks or saying goodbyes.

Then there was the guilt. She didn’t want to put these amazing people in Connor path, she didn’t want to put them in any danger. But her reality was that wherever she went, whoever helped her would be at risk. Sometimes it was unbearable to think about it.

She dressed quietly with a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. Just before she went out, she looked at the coat and decided to leave it for a moment. She went downstairs. The bar was already open and a bunch of people were sitting on the tables, enjoying Bellamy’s food. She walked to the kitchen, he was dicing some onions for his omelets. When he turned and saw her at the door his hand on the knife froze and he waited for her to talk.

“I’m going to need to borrow your washer and dryer” she said “I’m running low on clothes”

“Sure”

After a moment of silence, she spoke again.

“I guess it makes more sense to stay here. At least for a little while” she said, looking at the floor “I’ll be glad to help you out, if you’re sure I’d be of any use”

He began to dice again, slowly “How about minimum wage plus the room and meals?” he asked “keep track of your own hours, Marcus will pay you when you want him to.”

“That’s too much Bellamy, I should help you just for the room and meals”

“We open at six, stay open past nine. Jasper helps with the drinks and the serving” he paused “Two days and you’re going to be complaining it’s slave labor”

She smiled and shook her head. “Bellamy… I’m – I’m not ready for the rest, the restraining order thing. If we take this to court the documents will reveal my location and I’m not up to that”

“I understand” he said

“Eventually he’s going to come after me. He would have police looking or hire a detective. He’s going to try, and he won’t let anyone stop him, won’t let me walk away”

“One thing at a time Clarke” Bellamy said

“I just want you to know how dangerous he is”

“I’m not worried about that. We’ll be ready”

She took a deep breath “Okay. Where’s that washer?”

“In the shed outside, I had to put it there when Octavia decided to buy a punching bag, now I’m way too lazy to move it back” he stopped chopping again and, just when she was about to go outside he looked at her and asked “Clarke, what made you decide?”

“That coat. Your old coat”

“Old?” Bellamy asked, smiling slightly “That is a perfectly good coat”

 

Bellamy took breakfast with Jasper and Monty in the bar, and on his way back to the kitchen, glanced out the window to see Marcus unloading his SUV. He poured two cups of coffee and walked out back. When Marcus saw him coming, he left the packages on the road next to his SUV. Bellamy passed him a cup.

“Delivery service” Marcus said “Guess you have something on your mind” he took a sip, watching Bellamy over the rim of the cup.

“I was just thinking, we could probably use a little help around the bar”

“That so?”

“Clarke mentioned she’s looking for something, she’s not trouble you know”

“Hmmm”

“Seems like a good idea to me” Bellamy said “Don’t have any use for Octavia’s bedroom anyway. You can pay her out of my check”

“The bar makes money Bellamy, It can take on another employee. She doesn’t want fifty grand, does she?”

Bellamy made a face. Marcus thought he was funny “It’ll probably be temporary”

“I guess is nice to have a little help in there, in case I have other things to do”

“Good, then. I’ll let her know” he turned as if to leave.

“Ah, Bellamy” Marcus said and the man turned back. Marcus held his cup for Bellamy to take back to the kitchen. “You already let her know, didn’t you?”

“Might’ve let slip I thought we could use her” he said with a sheepish smile

“Yeah. Just... be careful, you know her situation”

“No one knows she’s here Marcus, not that it’s any of our business…”

“I’m not being nosy son, I’m prepared”

“Good” Bellamy said “If anything changes, I’ll let you know”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it friends  
> Next chapter we'll see Clarke making friends in town and the bond between Bellarke will grow :)  
> Please comment and let me know what did you think about the chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dont' know what is happening to me. I come home and all I want to do is write, I wish I could be this dedicated to things that actually matter for my professional future. Anyway, here's this new chapter. I hope you like it.

“I’m not being nosy son, I’m prepared”

“Good” Bellamy said “If anything changes, I’ll let you know”

 

 

***

 

There were things about being in Mount Weather that gave Clarke peace of mind. Small things, like being able to use Bellamy’s truck whenever she wanted to, even when she didn’t need to, she had no reason to take out for a drive. The sound of log-splitting in the early dawn hours that coincided almost exactly with the smell of coffee. And the work – she liked to work. It was nothing like the things she had done before, but she really liked it. It started with bussing tables and doing dishes, but before even a couple of days had passed, Bellamy was showing her how he made his soup, bread, pies, even his cookies.

“The real challenge here is making use of what we have” he told her “One of the reasons this bar does well and we can get by like we do – we cook what we kill or catch, some of Lincoln’s patients can’t pay him with money so they give him meat and produce and we use it, that reduces costs and we can give food to the ones that can’t pay for it. We just make sure everyone is taken care of. Marcus says, if we think first about making sure the town is taken care of, we’ll do just fine. And we do”

“How do you take care of a town?” she asked

“It’s really easy” he said “We put out three good meals a day, on their budget, and the ones that can’t pay knows that I make enough and there’s always leftovers. When we shop, since we have to drive to other towns that have big stores where we can fill our trucks, we check with people who can’t drive that far – old folks, new mothers and such – and see if we can get them anything. They appreciate that. In special occasions we just open the bar and people bring casseroles and we make the drinks. Also, when hunters and fishermen come this way they duke us up, real nice” to her perplexed expression he said “Tip us, Clarke. They like how we try to have good stuff and they have money.” He grinned

“Brilliant” she said

“Nah. The people put up with my broody ass, the least they deserve is someone who take care of them” he said “The most important thing to remember is to make them feel welcome. That’s something Marcus told me when I first came here” he smiled “Also my food has the best reputation”

“Yeah” she said “Fattening, but good”

Clarke felt that staying in this dinky country bar was like a cocoon, sheltering her from the outside world, from Connor. Jasper and Marcus were good about having her there, both of them giving her things to do. It didn’t seem like she was doing much, but they kept on doing it like her work was indispensable. Then there were the costumers who came in almost daily, - Monty, Nathan, Maya, Raven, Wick – sometimes twice a day. It took no time at all for them to regard Clarke as someone who’d been there a long time.

“We sure get more cookies around here these days” Raven said “It took a woman here to get it right”

Clarke didn’t bother to explain that it was all Bellamy’s doing. It was for them, not for the folks in the bar who’d come to like cookies with their coffee.

“What’d he cook tonight, Clarke?” Wick asked

“Bouillabaisse” she said “It’s wonderful”

“Ach, I hate that crap” Wick leaned close “He hide any of yesterday’s steak back there?”

“I’ll look” she said, grinning, already feeling a part of something.

Lincoln was at the bar every day, twice or three times per day. When the place was quiet and he didn’t have any patients, he’d sit and talk a while. He knew more about Clarke’s special circumstances than anyone, and it was Lincoln who asked her about her recovery.

“Better” Clarke said “Everything’s better. No more spotting”

“Looks like this was a good idea of your” Lincoln said, looking around indicating the bar.

“It wasn’t my idea” Clarke said “Bellamy said I could stay and help out. If I wanted to”

“It looks like you might be enjoying it,” he said “You’re smiling a lot”

With a shock of surprise, Clarke answered “I am. Who would’ve guessed? This has been a good…” she paused for a second “Break,” she finally said “I guess I can make this work for a while, at least until I start to…” she paused again “Show,” she said, looking down at her middle.

“Does Bellamy know?” Lincoln asked

Clarke nodded “It was the only decent thing to do – to tell him, when he made the offer”

“Well, even though hardly anyone knows the circumstances that brought you here, I think is fair to say everyone around here understands you must have had another life. Before Mount Weather” he said “Besides, lots of people are starting to show” he signaled with his head to Jasper and Maya who were sitting in a booth, his arms around her body. Just a few days ago Jasper had made the announcement, Maya was around four months along.

“That looks about right” Clarke said, smiling.

 

Clarke had been in Octavia’s old room over the kitchen for twelve days, the first four of which she’d been planning her departure. Bellamy told her he thought it was working out pretty well. They had a nice little routine. She would wake up around six, when Bellamy started splitting logs outside, then, when she was showered and primped, she plunged into kitchen work, cleaning up after everyone’s breakfast. While Bellamy was either talking or playing cards with Jasper and Monty, Clarke would go upstairs and take care of her room and her things. Because not all Octavia’s clothes worked out for her, there was frequent laundry in Bellamy’s laundry shed – so while the washer and dryer did their work, Clarke did a few things she hoped would help him out – cleaning his bathroom, dusting, making up his bed, running the sweeper around his room.

“Can I throw in a load of clothes for you?” she asked him

“I’ll take care of that. Listen, you don’t have to clean up after me.”

She laughed at him “Bellamy, I spend all day in the kitchen, collecting your pots, pans and dishes. It’s becoming a habit” she laughed at his shocked expression “You look after me all day long – the least I can do is help out”

“I’m not looking after you” Bellamy said “We’re…buddies”

“Yeah” she said. And thought, yeah – buddies.

Lunch was usually busy, and Clarke served and bussed. Dinner, from five to eight, was also busy, especially this time of the year, the end of the winter was near and the hunting season was starting. After eight there were occasionally lingerers, hanging out over beer or drinks, but the cooking was over for the night. After that she’d only check in to see if anything needed to be done before she called it a night. Sometimes, she’d have a cup of tea with Bellamy.

Bellamy had liked that time of night, when there was no more dinner to be served, when the kitchen was cleaned, when he could hear Clarke walking and singing upstairs, humming songs he’d never listened to. Before pouring that last shot of the day, he’d look at his cookbooks, planning dinner for the next day or maybe next week, making supply lists. The process made him feel he had everything managed efficiently.

It was about eight and there were a few hunters in the bar. Sterling had brought Lincoln a couple of nice-sized lamb shanks which came straight to Bellamy. He was reading about a rosemary braised lamb shanks when he heard a small shuffle. He looked over the counter to see little Emma – Starling and Mel’s 4 year old daughter –  standing in front of him, looking at him with a smile.

Bellamy lifted one brow “Forget something here doll?” he asked

“I want you to tell me a story”

Some days when Starling was out hunting and Mel was busy he would babysit Emma – well, if look after her coloring in one of the tables could be called ‘babysitting’ – he’d know the Starlings since he found Mel in their crashed car outside town and took her to Lincoln.

He’d grown fond of the little girl faster that anyone would’ve guessed and he loved telling her stories – the one she liked the most were the Greek mythology ones – and he did so everytime he had time for it.

“Um… isn’t it time for bed now?” Bellamy asked, the little girl shook his head and yawned “You look like you’re ready for bed”

Emma nodded “But I want one of your stories first”

“Come here” Bellamy said.

The little girl came closer, happily, raising her arms to be lifted up.

“Wait a second” he said, cleaning the counter with a clean dish towel, then lifted her up. “There, better. Now what kind of story you want”

“I want the Cassandra story!”

“You know your mother doesn’t particularly like this one” he said, but he started the story anyway. He hadn’t gotten far when the kitchen door opened.

“Emma!” Mel said, running toward them “She got away from me when I was talking to Octavia”

“Yeah, in fact, she looks like she’s ready to go to bed”

“I’m sorry Bellamy. Emma get over here, we have to go home, it’s bedtime”

She started to wiggle and whine “But I want Bellamy to tell me a story!”

“Bellamy’s busy, Emma. Now behave”

“Uh – Bellamy?”

Both Bellamy and Mel turned to see Clarke standing under the threshold. She had a sheepish smile on her face “I – uh – I couldn’t help but listen, Bellamy, if you want to tell her that story I could take care of the kitchen for you”

“See? Mama please! Bellamy is not busy anymore!” Emma said, looking at her mother for approval

“Okay” Mel said “But only one story, and a short one”

“Yay!” the little girl exclaimed, grabbing Bellamy’s and guiding him out of the now crowded kitchen “The Cassandra one is short!”

“No, not that one” Mel said following them outside, just before turning to Clarke “thanks” she said, leaving the kitchen.

While she put away the clean dishes and cleaned the last of the glasses she looked at Bellamy from the small window over the counter. He was telling the story to the little blonde girl sitting on his knees, in some parts the little girl laughed and in some other parts she made a shocked face. Clarke didn’t want to think about what this picture made her feel, it was too much trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a mess, I'm a fucking mess, this fucking ship is ruining me.  
> Anyway, thanks for the comments and kudos, they're always appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know what to say, this is taking over my life.  
> Thanks for the lovely comments,  
> enjoy!

While she put away the clean dishes and cleaned the last of the glasses she looked at Bellamy from the small window over the counter. He was telling the story to the little blonde girl sitting on his knees, in some parts the little girl laughed and in some other parts she made a shocked face. Clarke didn’t want to think about what this picture made her feel, it was too much trouble.

 

***

 

Clarke was peeling and slicing apples, Bellamy was rolling out pie dough when Octavia came into the kitchen.

“Lincoln is out front, he is going to the mall to get some stuff” She told them “You can ride along if you need anything Clarke”

Clarke looked at Bellamy, lifting her brows.

“Go on Clarke” he said “I got the kitchen. You probably need all kinds of things”

“Sure, thanks” she said, putting the apple and knife in the bowl, taking off her apron.

“Listen” Bellamy said, wiping his hands on a dish towel “I don’t even know if you have credit cards, but if you do, better be careful about that. You should shop with cash” he pulled out his wallet, took some bills out and began to unfold them, peeling off one, then another, then…

Clarke went completely pale, her eyes round and clearly frightened. She started shaking her head and backing away.

“Octavia…tell Lincoln I… I have to do… some things… okay?”

Octavia tilted her head, frowning “Clarke?” she asked

Clarke backed up until she was against the wall, her hands behind her back, her face as white as a sheet. Then a tear rolled down her cheek. Bellamy put his wallet on the counter and said “Give us a minute, O” Then he took off his apron and walked toward her. As he neared she slid down the wall and put her hands over her face. She was crying silently.

Bellamy got on his knees in front of her and gently tugged at her hands, pulling them away from her face and holding them on his big ones. “Clarke,” he said softly “Clarke, look at me. What just happened there?”

Her expression was panicked, even when he’d seen her cry a lot of times, this was different, he’d never seen her this terrified. Tears ran down her face, but her voice was a trembling whisper “He did that” she said “Got his money out of his pocket and said ’Go buy yourself some nice things’ he did that so much. Later, he’d throw the money at me and say he couldn’t afford to have a girlfriend that looked like a vagrant”

Bellamy sat on the floor next to her “Did you hear what I said?” he asked softly “I didn’t say anything like that, did I? I said you have to be careful, don’t use your card.”

“I heard you” she said in a whisper “Did I tell you I moved with him because I felt alone and I was tired?”

“You haven’t said anything about him” Bellamy said “Nothing at all. That’s okay – you don’t want to say anything unless you don’t want to”

“I was an medical intern. Sometimes I had to do more than twelve hours on the hospital because I wanted to be the best. I worked hard, I refused to use my mother reputation in my favour – She was a surgeon, you know?  I loved it, I loved the people but I was tired and my legs hurt and my back hurt and after my mom and dad died I couldn’t find anything beautiful in it. It brought too much memories back” she said and sniffled back some tears “I knew he was bad for me, Wells hated him and I moved with him because he said I didn’t have to work anymore” She started to laugh and cry together “Because I didn’t have anything. Because I had no one…”

“Guys like that know just what to use for bait” Bellamy said “They have a sense for that”

“How do you know that?”

He shrugged “I read about it” carefully, he wiped a tear from her cheek “It wasn’t your fault, none of it was your fault. You got tricked”

“I have nothing again” she said “A little suitcase – that is not even mine – a child on the way…”

“You have _everything_ ” he said “A baby on the way, friends…”

“I had a friend before” she whispered “He was scared of him. He ran him off and I lost him forever”

“Do I look like the kind of friend he can scare? Run off?” he pulled her gently onto his lap and she rested her head against his chest.

“I don’t know why I stay so crazy” she said softly “He’s not anywhere near. He’ll never guess this place. But I’m still scared”

“Yeah, that happens.”

“You’re never scared” she pointed

He chuckled softly and stroked her back. He was scared of a bunch of things, number one being the day she got these problems managed and left Mount Weather. “That’s what you think” he said “My mother use to say ‘Fears are fears. Slay your demons when you’re awake, they won’t be there to get you when you sleep.’” He smiled “If you ever figure out how to do that, let me know. Okay?”

“What did you do when you were scared?” she asked

“One of two things,” he said “I’d either cry, or I’d get mad.”

She lifted her head off his chest, looked at him and tried to imagine him crying, this big, deep voiced man, crying like a baby. She laughed a little.

“That’s a girl” he said, wiping off her cheeks. “I think you need to get out of Mount Weather a little bit. But you’re probably in no shape to go shopping today”

She shook her head “I am so sorry I made a scene”

“It’s a little country bar, Clarke. We live for those.” He grinned. Then he sobered “But my mother also used to say, stare your demons in the face – fake brave, look mean”

She shuddered.

“Never mind all that” he said “Tomorrow I’ll go for supplies instead of Marcus. Jasper can take care of the bar. I’ll take you out of town for a break. You can pick up a few things, if you want to. I’m not buying you anything, though. I’ll use the bar charge card, you can catch me up later, after a payday or two.” He touched her nose “You’ve used these clothes too many times, people notice, it suggests a wardrobe problem”.

She smiled.

 

Octavia had backed out of the kitchen when her brother asked for a moment. As slowly as she could, because something major was happening and she was curious. When she got to the bar, Lincoln was waiting, up on a stool.

“What’s up?” he asked

Octavia put a finger to her lips, shushing him. “Something is going on” she whispered.

“Yeah?” he asked, none the wiser.

Octavia stuck her head back close the door. Eavesdropping.

“Octavia!” Lincoln scolded her in a furious whisper

She put a finger on her lips again. Then, with a frown on her face, she went behind the bar and glared up at his handsome fiancée. “Clarke is having a breakdown in there…”

“Oh?” Does Bellamy needs help?”

Octavia shook her head “Bell asked me to step out. I heard a couple of things, purely by accident”

Lincoln gave her his ‘ _yeah, right’_ face. She ignored him.

“I heard… she’d been battered?”

Lincoln sat suddenly straight, eyes wide “No kidding?” he asked “She never told me that” then he smiled cutely

“And there’s a baby coming?” the shock on Octavia’s tone was undeniable.

“Really?” he asked.

“You’re not fooling me” she said “You know things”

Lincoln made a face to her, as if to say. _Duh, of course I know thing. Patient things, things I can’t share._ One thing he learned in med school: never be a big mouth, it doesn’t matter if it is your own mother, or in this case the woman you love. He got off the bar stool and went to the swinging door to the kitchen. He peeked; Bellamy was sitting on the floor, gently rocking Clarke on his lap. Ah, that was probably exactly what Clarke needed at the moment, better than a sedative.

Lincoln walked behind the bar and bend over to give his fiancée a peck on the lips. “I don’t think she wants to go shopping. I guess I’ll take the truck and buy some things for the clinic”

"You do that”

“Um, O? I don’t quite know how to explain this to you. You and I have such different life experiences with things like this…?

“Starting with, you would _never_ hit a woman”

“That’s lovely Octavia, but that’s not what I meant. Hmm” he said, looking at the ceiling “It might be easier for you if you thought of Clarke as an innocent prisoner” he said

“A prisoner?” she asked, looking startled and confused at once.

“That’s the closest thing I can think of that you can understand. I’ll be back as soon as I get what I need, okay?”

“Sure. Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided not to be ashamed of my obsession. I'll stop writing when I feel like it.  
> As always, let me know what you think, I tried to give you all a bit of Bellarke so I'd like to know how I did it :)
> 
> I love you all friends,
> 
> \- Jess


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I' amazed by some of your comments. You take my work and do amazing analysis of my words, you are incredibly nice. It's awesome how you take your time to leave meaningful comments and make me happy.  
> Enjoy!

“A prisoner?” she asked, looking startled and confused at once.

“That’s the closest thing I can think of that you can understand. I’ll be back as soon as I get what I need, okay?”

“Sure. Okay.”

 

A couple of hours later, with still plenty of time before dinner, Octavia was sitting on the porch, thinking about her fiancée words. Clarke came onto the porch holding a slice of steamy and delicious-looking apple pie on a plate. Octavia took it and said “Oohhh, Bell’s famous apple pie…”

Clarke laughed “Apparently everything he makes is famous” she paused, then sobered “I’m sorry about before, Octavia. I’m a little embarrassed”

She looked up at her and saw a sweet, docile face – the face of a young soon-to-be mother, a pregnant woman running to protect her unborn baby. And, as she had been told by her boyfriend, she imagined an enforced barricade, food deprivations, regular beatings from other people, fear of death, fear of waking up, fear of not knowing what was next, and knowing you didn’t deserved it– for years. It was not only hard to imagine a young woman like Clarke, so helpful and tender, going through something like that, it was _impossible_ to imagine the kind of monster who might subject her to it.

“Don’t worry about that, okay? We all have our moments”

“No, we don’t. Only I –”

She cut her off, laughing “Oh, don’t go there. Don’t go the ‘only I have this baggage’ route. Ask Lincoln – not long before we started dating, he had a fantastic breakdown. Come to think of, so did I!” Then she frowned slightly “On second thought, just forget what I said and keep assuming I’m as badass as I look”

Clarke smiled. “I apologize, however”

“No need, Clarke. I just hope you feel better”

 

The next day, Bellamy woke up as earlier as he always did, turned on the coffee maker and make breakfast for both of them. After they ate he took her to that promised shopping trip a few towns away. They went to target first, to buy her stuff first so the groceries wouldn’t go bad in the truck. She bought a few things – underwear, jeans, shirts. Bellamy waited outside the dressing room while she tried things on. They stopped at the bookstore. Bellamy spent some time in the history section, picking up a couple of books – the same type she’d seen on his bookshelf. Then, just before going out of the bookstore, Clarke saw some of her favorite books on one of the shelves.

“Maybe we should get you one too” he said

“No, I – I already read those” she said

“I’ve read all my books at least twice, maybe you need to remember how the stories go” he smiled “Is okay if I buy you one?” he asked

“Sure” she said, smiling.

Maybe the best part of outing was the drive. She’d come up to Mount Weather at night, in the middle of a snowstorm, and except for her quick glance at the mountain roads that night, she hadn’t seen much of her surroundings. Bellamy took them for a little drive along the high cliffs – so different up here than in the city. He passed through a dirt road surrounded by tall trees, they were so high Clarke couldn’t see the end of them from the truck. She imagined those trees were at least a thousand years old. He talked about the history of this place, but she was too dumbfounded by the view to pay any attention. When they arrived to Mount Weather, she pulled off in front of the bar. She turned over at him; he was grinning.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked him.

He turned to look at her. “I’ve never been shopping with a woman before” he said, “I didn’t hate it.”

 

 

***

During her stay in Mount Weather, Clarke started out in the bedroom above the kitchen, too afraid of what might happen, reluctant to step outside. Next, the kitchen, then the bar, then the late evenings with Bellamy in front of the fire, talking and drinking tea. And then she’d begun working, getting to know the locals. Gradually her circle widened until she’d been to the corner store a few times, then she’d gone to the little library, open on Tuesdays and Fridays, to get novels for herself.

In only three weeks, she no longer felt like a guest. A newcomer, certainly, but for the first time in years, at ease with her surroundings. The days were long and the work wasn’t light. Her legs hurt again, but this time she actually felt grateful, because she was able to do something – not like what she did before, but this was a different way of helping people, everytime she gave them one of Bellamy’s delicacies, she would feel useful, she would put a smile on their tired faces. She felt grateful because it was an opportunity to spend energy rather than being locked up and emotionally drained from the constant tension and uncertainty of her past life. She fixed her own breakfast and lunch and ate dinner in the kitchen with Jasper and Bellamy between hustling meals and doing dishes, and it felt good.

After she finished her work in the bar, she read for a couple of hours, and actually fell into the story, something she hadn’t been able to do in what felt like decades. She left the room to go downstairs to get herself a glass of milk, smiling as se descended the stairs – there was always a night-light on in the kitchen, welcoming her. She noticed a glow from the bar and peeked in. Bellamy sat in the darkened bar at the table in front of the fire, his feet up on the open hearth. She walked into the room.

“Isn’t this awful late for you?” she asked.

He jumped in surprise, put his feet on the floor and sat up straight. “Clarke! I didn’t hear you come down”

“Just prowling around, getting a glass of milk. What’s the matter? Can’t sleep?”

“Having a little trouble, yeah, I’ll go in a minute.”

“Want some company?” she said. He made a strange face. “Oh, I guess you want a little time to yourself.”

“That’s okay….” He said.

“No, I understand. You are used to have all this place for yourself and now I’m here. I’ll just see you in the –”

“Sit down, Clarke” he said, somber. Unhappy

“Is everything all right?” she asked, pulling out a chair.

He shook his head. “It’s not so good. I didn’t want to do this tonight. I wanted to save this for morning.”

“Did I do something?” she asked, frowning. “Is there something I need to –”

“You’re perfect,” he said “It’s not you – you’re perfect. I got some bad news. Connor did it – what you expected. He finally did it. Reported you missing, almost two weeks ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment and tell me what you think.  
> Also, I have a [tumblr](http://bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for the kudos :)  
> \- Jess


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> This is a long chapter, but I decided to write it that way because what happens after this chapter is REALLY IMPORTANT. Stuff happens in this one, but not the kind of stuff you're waiting for (that happens in the next one). In this one everyone is sort of getting ready for the motherfucker.

“Did I do something?” she asked, frowning. “Is there something I need to –”

“You’re perfect,” he said “It’s not you – you’re perfect. I got some bad news. Connor did it – what you expected. He finally did it. Reported you missing, almost two weeks ago.”

She was stunned, speechless for a moment. She sank weakly into the chair. While she was settling in, growing more comfortable with her surroundings, making friends, really good friends, he had crossed her mind sometimes. She would look over her shoulder; she couldn’t help it. A shudder would pass through her now and then and her heart would start to beat a little wildly and she’d have to focus her energy on breathing evenly, reminding herself he was not near, reminding herself that it would pass. Lately those episodes were less frequent, but now…

She closed her eyes briefly “I’ll go up and pack,” she said softly. “I’d better get going. Get back to the plan…”

“Don’t pack yet, Clarke,” he said “Let’s talk about it.”

She shook her head “There’s nothing to talk about, Bellamy. He’s after me – I have to get away, to get _us_ away” she said, placing a hand on her abdomen. “I can’t afford to take a chance.”

“If you run, you’re taking a bigger chance. If he pick you up, and you’re alone, you won’t be able to protect yourself” he said “You have to do it, Clarke. Face him down” he argued “I’ll help. I’ll find a way to get you through this.”

“There’s only one way through this – I have to get out of here. You said it yourself, he’ll outsmart me.”

“I never said that” he replied “I said you’re not devious. But I think you can beat him. I know a couple of people – my buddy, the cop, for one. There’s Marcus, his brother is a judge – I know he’ll help if he can. Lincoln’s cousin, Lexa, she’s a lawyer – a hotshot lawyer in the state capital – she’s so smart, it’s scary. We have to ask some of these people how you can get out of this mess and have a real life. I’ll see through it with you, till you’re safe and free”.

She sat forward in her chair. “Listen, why are you doing this? What do you think you’ll get out of it?”

“Me? Sleep, that’s what. When this is over, I’ll sleep at night knowing you’re not getting beat up, knowing your baby is not growing up mean, learning how to beat on women or how to be beaten. Clarke…” he stopped and hung his head. Then he raised it and looked her dead in the eye “They way you acted that first couple of days…that’s – that’s not the reaction you get for a little argument, you were terrified. That was no little slap, no little argument”

She looked down into her lap. It was embarrassing, it was unbearable to think he’d understand the awful mess she was in.

“Listen” he said, lifting her chin up with a finger “I was okay with my life until you walked in from of my truck that night. I was all right with me to fish and cook and clean up. I never minded being alone. I’m never going to get married or have kids of my own – I know that. But I can do something about this –”

“ _This_ isn’t your business!”

“It is now! You think you’re not counting on me but you do! From the time you come down here until you’re finally sound asleep! When you leave here, I’m going to know we did everything we could to keep you safe from that bastard!” he took a breath. “Sorry. Sometimes I can sound as scary as I look.”

“You don’t look scary,” she said so softly he barely heard. “And if this doesn’t work?”

He straightened. “Then I’ll take you somewhere safe. I’ll do whatever it takes. Jesus Christ, Clarke, if I don’t do this what am I gonna do with my life? When something like this hits me square in the face and I ignore it, what am I worth then, huh?” he gulped “How can I ignore your problems when I have a sister, when she could be the one in this situation?”

Clarke didn’t respond to that. Octavia was way stronger than she was, she would never let anything like that happen to her. She shook her head almost sadly, thinking of his previous words.

“How do you know you’ll never get married and have kids? She asked

“C’mon” he said, frustrated.

“Really.”

“To start with, I am not husband material. You can ask every single woman in this town about that – that might be one clue.”

“There’s lots of towns…”

“Jesus, Clarke, do we have to make this about me?”

She smiled at him “You’re swearing like mad, I bet your mother’s turning in her grave…”

“Spinning” he agreed. Then, pleadingly, “I know you’re scared. Are you too scare to try to stare this son of a bitch in the eye and face him down if I swear I have your back? If you have lots of help?” he took a breath. “He’s your demon, Clarke.” He said “Straighten up as tall as you can, puff up, look mean, even if you’re not” he shook his head “You’d have trouble doing that, little as you are. But if you act like you’re not scared and you have help, good and strong and smart help – you might get this behind you. We’ll help. The judge, Lincoln, Octavia, Lexa, Nathan.”

“Nathan?”

“My buddy” he swallowed “He says the smartest thing to do now is to find someone in the law, someone who will listen to your story. I’m thinking a lawyer, or the judge”

“Okay” she said.

“Okay?” he repeated, surprised.

“Okay. I’m terrified, but okay.” She shuddered “It’s your way or running, hiding. Either way, the danger is pretty much the same.” Then, quietly “Thank you, for offering to help.”

“It feels good to help,” he said. “Just do it for your baby. Let’s get him or her outta this mess.”

“Yeah, I’ll try that.” She said, but her voice was shaky.

 

Bellamy didn’t look like the kind of guy who could use looking after, watching over, but this is what Wick did. He looked for each and every one of his friends.

There was another reason Wick was watching closely right now, and that was because Bellamy was changing. Wick recognized it at once because it hadn’t been so long since he went through similar changes – although Wick had known exactly what was happening to him – _not that he’d ever admit it out loud_ – and he suspected Bellamy did not.

Of course, Wick was not the only one looking after the older Blake sibling. Lincoln was doing it too. The doctor had never formed a strong attachment with a woman. At least not after Mori. After her betrayal he’d decided he’d spend the rest of his days alone, he was done suffering. That’s when he moved to Mount Weather and he met Octavia, the small but reckless PE teacher at MW Elementary School; before he’d been there a week, he was cooked. It was the right time, the right woman, and the right circumstances. And while it shook him, because what he felt for this fierce teacher was way bigger than what he felt for Mori, it never confused him. It was unmistakable. He’d fallen in love with such a horrendous crash it surprised him the snow over the mountains hadn’t buried the little town, as though an earthquake shook them.

It had happened almost as quickly to Bellamy. Clarke appeared that stormy night just three weeks ago with a thin coat and a body full of bruises and Lincoln could sense a fire in Bellamy right away. At first it appeared to be an intense need to right a wrong, to protect – typical of Bellamy. He was that kind of man – tough on the outside but soft on the inside. But in the days since what he saw had evolved. Bellamy watched over Clarke with an intensity that spoke of something more than the goodness of his heart. He would glance at her and his eyes would grow dark. Glow. He’d shake himself, look away, and his brow would furrow as though he were trying to make sense of feelings he hadn’t had before.

Lincoln and Bellamy had such different stories with the opposite sex. Bellamy had never done well with abstinence – he had always had a woman somewhere. He was driven by those needs. He was solitary, at least in the emotional sense, for all the time Lincoln has known him he’d only cared for his sister. But this – this was a first for Bellamy. He was powerfully attracted to a woman and didn’t have any idea what to do about it.

Lincoln watched Clarke, as well, because he cared deeply about her, to the point he considered her a friend. This was a kindhearted and vulnerable woman, and she was tender toward Bellamy – but it was entirely possible it was no more than gratitude. If she were ever able to put the threats she faced, she would probably go away. Back to a family somewhere, perhaps. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would be satisfied with a life in a little town, she seemed extremely smart, too smart to waste her potential washing dishes in a country bar.

But for now, they were inseparable. Bellamy kept Clarke under his protective wing, as though danger loomed nearby and might strike at any moment. When there was no patrons in the bar, they sat at one of the tables and talked or played with his old cards. When the place was busy, Clarke would be in the kitchen, helping him or keeping him company. She worked in the bar, apparently content with her duties and constantly checking with Bellamy to ask him what he’d like her to do.

It was obvious what Bellamy was beginning to feel. Not so obvious what Clarke was feeling. And no time presented itself in which Lincoln could talk to Bellamy privately. Of course, he wasn’t sure what he’d say, anyway. There was on the thing Lincoln knew – these domestic situations were probably more dangerous than war. Volatile, unpredictable, lethal. Sheriff Miller would often say he’d rather walk into an armed robbery than a domestic. Lincoln didn’t want anything bad happen to Clarke – he liked her. But he also didn’t want anything bad to happen to Bellamy.

With this on his mind, he wanted to talk to his fiancée about it. Lincoln walked the street to his house where he found Octavia and Raven playing poker on the kitchen table. Octavia had a nice stack on pennies sitting by her hand. When she saw him standing there, her green eyes sparkled and she smiled at him.

“When you’re done with the game, can you go for a ride with me?” he asked.

“Where?”

He shrugged. “Just for a ride. Me and you. The sun’s out for a change.”

“You can be done right now,” Raven said. “I haven’t won, not even once.” She threw her cards down and stood up.

“You need to work on your poker face” Octavia told her.

“I need to work on my cheating,” Raven returned, heading out of the house.

Octavia got her coat and walked outside with Lincoln. “Where are we going?” she asked again.

“Just for a ride. Tell me about your morning.”

They held hands as they walked out to Lincoln’s truck and he opened the door for her. When he was in beside her and driving, she said “Well, I dismissed the children early today, I saw a lot of runny noses, they need to rest.”

“Tell me about it. We’re running through the decongestant. I think I feel a cold coming on.”

“Are you sick?” she asked, worried.

“No. My head feels stuffy, maybe I’m just tired.”

They drove out of town to the west for about ten minutes and Lincoln turned off the road, then he stopped. “The next part of the road it’s a bit bumpy, be careful with your head.”

She nodded and smiled. He kept on driving through the dirt road, wide enough for only one vehicle, through the trees. Then they broke out in a big, grassy clearing from which you could see from miles.

“I thought you’d love this view.”

“Oh, my. I do” Octavia said, taken with it. From where she was standing she could pastures, ranches, farms, all of them covered in snow. Behind them the pine-covered hills rose and in front of them, the hill slopped down to the valley.

“Come on.” He said, opening his door and rounding the truck to open hers. They stood on this grassy knoll, looking across the foothills and valley below them. Lincoln put an arm around her shoulder and she leaned against him.

“This is beautiful” she said “I didn’t even know this place was here”

“O, what if this spot, right here where we’re standing – what if this spot was your front porch?”

She snapped her head up to look at him, her mouth open slightly, her eyes wide. She said his name in a breath “Lincoln!”

“I think I can get it” he said “It’s Marcus’ land and he doesn’t use it.” He smiled “Also, we only need a couple of acres.”

Her eyes got glassy. It was really uncommon for Octavia to cry, but she actually never believed she was gonna get so lucky, she’d never thought she was going to get her happily ever after so soon.

“Oh Lincoln” she caressed his cheek “You’ve been looking for land.”

He laughed. “I can’t say I haven’t. I want to give you a house with a nice view, a big yard, somewhere where our kids can run and destroy your flower garden.”

“I’ve never had and probably never will have a flower garden.”

“Well, _my_ flower garden then.” He said with a smirk. “You like it?”

“I love it.” She said. “I love you”

He moved behind her and slipped his arms around her. He put his large hands over her abdomen and she put hers over his. Leaning back against him. They stood there and looked across the beautiful land. Octavia imagined  her future there, the family gatherings, the holidays, all the beautiful things they will make together. He bent and kissed her neck.

“God, I want you more than ever.” He said and kissed her neck again.

“That – “she laughed “Is not possible”

“Want to christen the new home site?” He asked with a raspy tone.

She laughed again. “You’re not going back to the clinic with grass stains on your butt. Control yourself.”

“I’m going to build our house here” he said “And Bellamy will help me. I will need to get some handy men when we start with the hard work but before that –”

“Lincoln, stop it. You don’t even know if Marcus will sell you the land.”

He turned around with a determined look on his face. “I’m going to build our house here, O.”

“Okay.” She said.

Eventually they went back to the truck, but they sat there a long while, quite, looking over the valley, both of them makings plans about their new home. Lincoln was remembering when he arrived, looking for a fresh start and the first thing he thought was that he’d make a terrible mistake in coming to this god-forsaken town. He wasn’t made to live in the woods – he was a city man. Now, he was looking at the most glorious landscape in the country and knew he would never leave it. Now he would be married in less than six months; how far he’d traveled, emotionally and physically. From a man who swore would never be in a relationship again to a man in the most intense relationship he could imagine.

“You’re very quiet” Octavia said

“Yeah.” He paused “O, help me with something.”

“Oh, so you didn’t bring me here just for the view. You wanted some privacy too, huh?” she said “What’s bothering you?”

“I’ve been watching Bellamy” he said.

“Ah, lots of people have”

“What’s up with that?” he said.

“You really need me to explain that?” she smiled “My brother is getting very attached to his houseguest”

“Yeah, that’s what I think too. I have a feeling he doesn’t know what hit him.”

She reached for his hand. “He’ll work it out.”

“Octavia, I’m not sure the looks Clarke gives him mean anything but thank you. I mean, Bellamy is the kind of guy you want by your side if you have problems.”

“Well” Octavia said, intertwining her fingers with his “Turns out feeling safe for once is a big item.” She smiled “that was one of the things you’ve given me that mean the most.”

“But she’s been hurt bad, O, real bad. When the damage heals and she isn’t afraid she – ”

“Lincoln, stop it, you were damaged, and that never discouraged me for a second”

“That was different”

“You’re such a mom” she smiled “You’re afraid he’s going to get hurt.”

“I might be.”

“Well, stop,” she said “my brother is a big guy. Let him be. Let her be.”

For Lincoln it was like being in a parallel world. Octavia and Bellamy were extremely close, their relationship was almost pathological; they would try and protect the other with their own life, and it was hard for Lincoln to understand how his fiancée wasn’t worried about her brother emotional well-being.

“I saw the way that woman was beat up. The guy who did that to her is obsessed,” he replied “Mean as the devil himself. She’s going to have some crazy bastard after her and I’d hate to have your brother caught in the crossfire.”

“Lincoln, better listen what I am saying, this isn’t up to you.”

Octavia’s tone suggested she knew what she was talking about, and in fact, she did. One thing Bellamy Blake never tolerated was someone getting on his business and if Lincoln kept insisting… well, she didn’t want to be there to see what would happen.

“Octavia I owe the man. He decided to bring you to this town and he’s been watching over you since you were born. It’s time we watch over him too.” He said. “Your brother never had much emotional traffic with women. I’m not sure he knows the score.”

“I bet you’re wrong about that too.” She said, laughing. “He just has to know how he feels and what he wants. This isn’t your bone, baby – don’t chew on it.”

“Yeah,” he said sullenly, “Yeah.”

He started the truck and drove them back to town. When he left Octavia off on their small house and went back to the clinic, he found Bellamy and Clarke sitting on the waiting room. Bellamy was holding her hand.

“Good. You’re back” he said. “We need a minute with you.”

“Sure.” Lincoln said.

“I hope you don’t mind but I called Lexa about getting a lawyer for Clarke. We’re going to Arcadia to see Judge Kane; Lexa said it was the best way to deal with this. We’re going to get a restraining order.”

Bellamy didn’t bother explaining what for, obviously Lincoln knew about Clarke’s situation, and they needed his help, Lincoln could give them enough medical evidence to get at least a TRO. He looked from Bellamy to Clarke.

“Is that what you want to do?”

“Yeah.” Bellamy answered for her. “I’m backing her up so she can get out of this mess and keep her baby safe.” Clarke looked down, as if ashamed. Bellamy noticed and nudged her, then, with a finger, lifted her chin. “You didn’t do anything wrong Clarke” He then turned to Lincoln. “I told Clarke we’d all back her up.” Then, he lifted his brown,  asking Lincoln to fight against that statement. The doctor sighed. 

“Sure.” He said, defeated.

“The thing is – there’s something about that restraining order. The fucker – he can find out where she is.”

“Whoa,” Lincoln said. He hadn’t know that. “You sure that is the best way to go? I mean, what are the odds someone is going to find her here, if you stay quiet?”

“I talked with Nathan about it.” Bellamy said. “He’ll be quiet, but he can’t be sure they won’t find her if someone starts sniffing around because, well, he reported her missing.” he paused. “We’re just going to have to face it.”

“Bellamy, be careful,” Lincoln said, “these domestic things can be dicey. Really dangerous.”

Bellamy glowered at the other man. “Looks like it already was. And you know more about that than me, anyway, the shit’s gotta stop. And Clarke needs our help.”

“Okay, yeah, anyone comes around here and makes trouble, we can handle it. But – you sure you want to dive into this?” the doctor insisted. “It might not come the way you want.”

“He’s right, Bellamy,” Clarke said, her voice trembling. “It could be a mistake, you could get hurt.”

“I’m not getting hurt,” Bellamy assured her, “No one is getting hurt. Except, well, him.”

“At least think about it, Bell.” Lincoln said.

Bellamy expression darkened and his eyes narrowed. “We’re doing this.” He said.

Lincoln took a breath. “Okay, Bellamy. Okay, whatever you want.”

 

Later that day, Bellamy noticed Clarke had a bad case of the nerves, and he didn’t blame her. He blamed Lincoln. It was wrong of him to raise questions, making her more defensive. It was a dangerous situation, but he was one hundred percent sure he could handle it.

“I think we should reconsider this plan.” Clarke said softly.

“There’s no need to be afraid, Clarke. The only real danger is not getting that order, and believe me, I can’t see that happening. Not after what he’s done. I can’t believe any judge would let that happen.”

“But, Lincoln’s right – you shouldn’t be getting yourself into this mess. I can still get away. I can get to a shelter, get things in order. Get a new identity…”

“Don’t be afraid,” he said again. “It’s going to be okay. I talked to Judge Kane and he’s sure we can work this out.”

“There are alternatives to doing this, is all I’m saying…”

“Clarke, if it comes to that, I’ll take you away myself. I’ll stay with you till you’re safe.”

“You don’t have to – ”

“I made a promise.”

“Well, you don’t have to hold on to that.” She said, stubbornly.

“I made a promise to _myself._ ”

 

When Bellamy proved to be as stubborn as she was, Clarke just said goodnight and went up the stairs. Worried about her, he closed the bar and locked the door and windows, crept up the stairs and tapped lightly at her door. When she opened it, he could see she’d been crying. Her beautiful face was pink and her blue eyes were red from the tears.

She had his sister’s old suitcase open on the bed, all her new clothes were neatly folded inside.

“Aw, Clarke,” he said, pulling on her hand, drawing her out of the room, out of her crazy escape ideas.

She leaned against him and wept onto his chest, leaving wet spots on his gray Henley shirt.  He put his arms around her for a little while, gently stroking her back. When her sobbing calmed down, he took her by the hand to the living room. She sat at the sofa and he sat in a big leather chair in at a right angle to her. He scooted forward and reached for her hands. Holding them, he looked into her eyes.

“Were you going to run?” he asked her “Are you that scared?”

She nodded and he ran a finger along her cheek. Wiping the last of the tears.

“Let’s try to get through this,”

“Even if it works there’s no way I can repay you,” she said.

He shook his head. “I don’t want anything from you Clarke. Except that no one ever hits you again. Ever.”

Clarke put her small shaking hand on his cheek and whispered “You’re such an angel.”

“Nah. I’m just an average guy.” He laughed . “A below-average guy.” He swallowed. “It doesn’t make any sense to me,” he said quietly “If a man has a family like this – you and a baby coming – why? He should be doing anything in the world to keep you safe, not hurt you. I wish…” he stopped his trail of though and shook his head sadly.

“What do you wish, Bellamy?”

“You deserve to have a man who loves you and never lets you forget it. Someone who wants to raise that baby into a solid and strong man or woman.” He moved his hand to her hair, taking some silky curls between his fingers. “If I had a woman like you, I’d be so careful,” he said in a whisper.

She looked into his brown, tender eyes and smiled. But it was a smile tinged with fear and sadness. He pulled her to him and she sat on his lap, taking in his embrace. She nestled like a kitten against his broad chest. Bellamy leaned back in the chair and closed  his eyes, his arms around her, holding her against him.

_All I have to offer is this,_ he thought, _help, and safety. We’ll get this bastard out of her life; she’ll grow strong and confident again. And then she’ll go. Somewhere down the line there will be a man – one who treats her right. But until then, she might need someone to hold her for a little while. And if it gets to be me, I’ll make the most of it._

He sat like that until his mother’s old wall clock said that it was midnight. Clarke had not moved in hours, she slept in his arms. He could definitely stay there until dawn, just feeling her small body breathing calmly against his but he couldn’t, so he simply kissed the top of her head and stood carefully. He carried her into her room and lowered to the bed.

“Thank you Bellamy” she whispered with her eyes closed.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he whispered back. “I’m doing what I want to do.”

 

Lincoln was entering the bar at 7.00 am the next morning when Bellamy came out of the kitchen and signaled him to follow. They went to the back of the bar and that’s when Lincoln noticed the menacing look on his friend’s face. He frowned, wondering what was wrong.

Before he could wonder for long, Bellamy landed a shattering blow to Lincoln’s face, knocking him backwards about three feet and flat on his very expensive pants. It felt like a bomb going off in his head. “Jesus –”

“What the hell are you thinking, making her feel like she’s to blame, like she’s doing something wrong?” Bellamy demanded. “You are a doctor; you ought to have more brains than that!”

“Whoa” was all Lincoln could say. He stayed where he was, a hand pressed to his throbbing jaw. He didn’t dare get back on his feet, he was not ready to fight against the man. He was bigger than Bellamy, but seeing how angry he was, it seemed like a bad idea.

“The girl’s already scared to death and doesn’t think she deserves help, and I got _you_ questioning _me_. What the hell’s the matter with you?”

“Uh, Bellamy…”

“I would have expected more out of you, Lincoln. It’s not like you haven’t been there, you came here with some shit on your back and I never told Octavia to stay away from you, to not get involved.”

“Yeah” he said, slowly. He moved his jaw back and forth with his hand. Not broken. “Yeah. Okay.” He touched his cheek and stifled a scream as he felt an intense bolt of pain.

“I thought I could count of you to step up. Not even Octavia got involved, and she’s always being so nosy!” he paused to breathe “You, of all people, know what she’s is going through, what that monster did!”

“Okay, so the girl’s gotten real important to you…” he said carefully.

“That’s not what this is about! I’m just trying to help out – I don’t expect anything. I sure didn’t expect you to try to back me out of helping her.”

“You’re right,” Lincoln said “I’m sorry.”

“I never do anything I don’t want to!”

“I know. Boy, do I get that now.” He started to get up and Bellamy put out his hand, Lincoln took the assist only to find himself shoved back onto the ground.

“If you can’t help,” Bellamy said “shut the fuck up.”

And with that, Bellamy turned and stumped back into the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About this chapter: I wanted to make Bellamy and Lincoln's relationship like the one between to best friends cause in most fics they're like strangers to one another. (Also I love me some Linctavia moments because, let's be real, they rock)
> 
> I probably wont update tomorrow but I'm sure as hell I'll update the day after tomorrow and finally we are going to meet the son of a bitch.
> 
> [Let's cry together](http://bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)
> 
> PS: don't get used to the long chapters ;).


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, this is it, if you can't tolerate crude descriptions better not read this chapter, there are two scenes that involve violence.  
> I have to be in the clinic in less than an hour so I have to go now, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope I did justice to the image you had on the piece of shit.

“If you can’t help,” Bellamy said “shut the fuck up.”

And with that, Bellamy turned and stumped back into the bar.

Lincoln stayed down another minute. He drew up his knees and circled them with his arms. He shook his head. Whoa, he thought. Damn. Bellamy had some arm. He guessed all that wood chopping did that to him.

He got up slowly and decided his breakfast could wait. He was seeing stars. He walked over to the clinic, his assistant and nurse, Harper, was fixing some sex-ed pamphlets in the reception area. She turned as Lincoln came in and squinted at him.

“How’s the other guy look?” she asked.

“I think I might’ve stepped on Bellamy’s toes,” he said “Is there an ice pack in the kitchen?”

Twenty minutes later, after Harper called her, the front door opened and Octavia came in. She left her purse in the reception area and went to the kitchen for coffee. Lincoln was sitting at the table, an ice pack held to his eye. She seemed anything but surprised. She poured herself a mug of steamy coffee and sat down next to him.

“Let me guess,” she said, wearing a superior expression. “You felt the need to give my brother some advice.” It wasn’t a question.

“Why don’t I listen to you?” he asked, lowering the ice pack and revealing a bruised cheek. She shook her head in disgust. “As it turns out, Bellamy does know what hit him, and he hit me for pointing it.”

“Toldja,” she said, leaning her chin into her hand, elbow on the table.

“Apparently he’s already seriously involved in this mess,”

She tsked. It was her way to letting him know she found him stupid without saying it out loud.

“Okay. I said I was sorry, he’s right and I’m sorry.”

“You say so after he cleaned you clock, I assume…”

“Hmm, yeah, after.”

“Men.” She said, in that tone she and Raven had already managed to perfection.

“We’re usually on the same team, your brother and I, I mean” he pointed out.

It was true. Just a few months ago when Octavia decided to travel and compete in some sort of extreme triathlon, both of them argued against it until their faces were red. Not that it was of any use, she went anyway and the shiny silver medal was hanging above their fireplace back in their house.

“Well, that’s true,” she said “But this is the first time there’s a woman between you two.”

“I’m getting that.” Lincoln whined.

“You know,” she started, with a smug grin. “theres this little rule about opinions. They’re only good when someone asks you for them.”

He huffed. “He did say something about how I could shut the fuck up.”

“There you go. Who would have though my brother was so wise?”

He made a face at her and put the ice back against his face, wincing in the process.

“Hurts, huh?” she asked.

“Damn, that boy’s got an arm.”

“You’re welcome to stay hide for as long as you want, but sooner or later you’re going to have to kiss and make up. Did you bring breakfast?”

“Yeah. But I guess I first give him some time to cool down. I need both of my eyes to take care of my patients.”

“If my brother had more in mind for you, he’d already delivered it.”

A couple of hours later Lincoln walked into the kitchen at the bar and saw Bellamy scowl his greeting. Bravely, the doctor walked up to the counter. “Hey man,” he said “You were right, I was wrong and I’d like us to get back on the same team.”

“You sure this team of mine isn’t too much trouble for little you?” Bellamy asked

“Okay, you about done? Because this really hurts,” he said pointing at his face. “and I’m trying not to kick you right now. We could’ve just _talked_ about it.”

“I wanted to make sure you understood my point.” Bellamy said.

“I get it Bell. Now, come on. I’m only going to ask once.”

Bellamy seemed to consider it for about a second and then, slowly, put out his hand. Lincoln shook it.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he said to Bellamy.

“Don’t make me.”

It wasn’t long before Clarke entered the kitchen with some dirty dishes on a tray.

“Oh my god.” She said, looking at Lincoln’s face.

“It feels much worse than it looks.” He told her.

“What in the world happened?”

“I got too close to the rear end of a mule.” He said, of course, Clarke didn’t know there were no mules in Mount Weather. He pulled a memory stick out of his pocket. “By the way, since you’re going to see Judge Kane, this is an electronic copy of your medical records.” He said “I’ve been saving this since the first time you came, if the judge needs proof, my medical descriptions should suffice.”

“Thanks.” She said, smiling.

 

***

 

Judge Kane was nothing like his brother Marcus, he did have the same dark eyes, but his hair was cut short and his face seemed more relaxed than his brothers, he was also nicer; giving Bellamy and Clarke smiles and energetic handshakes when they came into his office.

Clarke explained to him about his life with Connor and how the abuse started after her parents’ death. She told him how it became increasingly worse and horribly violent. Grabbing Bellamy’s hand she told him about the last time Connor hit her.

He’d come home drunk – as always – and he’d tried to make a move on her, but she was so tired. He took it the wrong way and before she could do something her body was flying over the coffee table, his hand wrapped around her neck. She’d gasped when her weak body slammed into the wood, knocking the breath out of her lungs. His fingers bit into her neck, squeezing hard, closing her throat. She wheezed, thinking it was finally it, thinking this was how she was going to die. But she thought about her baby and with the last oxygen she had left, she raked her nails over his face, forcing him to let her go. She gasped for air and coughed.

_“You have balls”_ he’d told her _“Now you’re going to take your beating like a good little bitch”_

And she took it. She remained quiet while his hand gripped her jaw and shoved her against the wall, cracking the plaster on it. She remained quiet when his Italian shoes slammed into her side and into her ribs. When he’d finally calmed down he took a bottle out of the fridge and went to their room. Later that night, between drunk sobs he’d tried to apologize.

“ _I’m sorry babe, I should never, I shouldn’t have laid a hand on you”_ he stopped and swallowed _“You know I love you, you just make me so pissed off sometimes”_

When he’d finally passed out she escaped.

Judge Kane nodded. Clarke gave him the records Lincoln had prepared for them. The judge took a look at them, clicking his mouse a few times. Then he turned to Clarke.

“Why didn’t you notify the police?” He asked.

“I was afraid. And I did it twice before, but Connor has friends in high places.”

“Dr. Coutts dated these documents” the judge said. Clarke gave him a questioning look. “Mr. Huner reported you missing seven days after these documents were created. Which means he wanted you to recover before taking you back with him.” The judge leaned in. “This is a dangerous man, young lady. I’m granting you a TRO based on your testimony and these files. You’re going to need some legal help if you want to get a definitive restraining order.” The judge sighed “If you’re needed in court to go face him, stay out of his radar, and don’t be alone.”

“I’ll go with her.” Bellamy said.

Judge gave a nod of approval.

 

***

 

Jasper was singing as he arrived at work. He came from the back door, trough the deserted kitchen, wondering why the bar was so quiet. He entered the bar and saw Wick talking with Lincoln.

“Hey guys,” Jasper said and Lincoln looked up. “Holy God!” Jasper said, jumping back, wick laughed. “Man!”

“Yeah, kind of ugly, huh?” Lincoln said.

“Who hit you?”

“I ran into a door,” he said.

“Nah,” Wick said, shaking his head, “That door has a name and is related to his fiancée.”

“Uh-oh. You told him not to get mixed up with Clarke, didn’t you?”

Lincoln straightened indignantly “Now, why the hell would you say something like that?” he demanded.

“Well,” Wick said, pouring a cup of coffee and handing it to Jasper. “It’s pretty obvious how Bellamy feels about her.”

“Anyway, where’s the big man?” Jasper asked.

“He’s with Clarke. He took her to Arcadia to see Judge Kane” Lincoln answered. “They’ll be back soon.”

Suddenly Jasper started to laugh, and he kept on laughing for a good while. Shaking his head he wiped a happy tear off his eye.

“What?” Lincoln demanded.

“Did you tell him not to do that?”

“No.” Lincoln insisted. Then he sighed. “I’d be dead now if I’d told him not to.” He pointed at his face. “I got this for telling him to think about it.”

“Oh my Jesus,” Jasper said with a grin. “Bellamy is all in, got himself a woman.”

“Yeah, well,” Wick said, “I’m not so sure he gets that yet, so watch your mouth if you don’t want to end up like our doctor here.”

Jasper smiled, looking at Lincoln. “I am not dumb enough to get between Bell and a woman.”

“Yeah?” Lincoln said. And he thought _Am I the only one around here without a brain?_

 

***

 

Lexa was the closest thing Lincoln had to a sister. They grew up really close, even when Lexa was a few years younger than him; back in the day, they were together all the time, people would often wonder if they were brother and sister. After college they kept in touch, calling each other at least once a week, and they would support each other. Lexa was there when Lincoln suffered and Lincoln was there when Costia, Lexa’s girlfriend, died in strange circumstances.

After Costia’s death Lexa turned into this cold hearted woman and the girl he used to laugh and joke with him was gone. But he still loved her and they still cared about each other. So when Lincoln called her asking her for help with Clarke’s case she said she’d do whatever she could.

Clarke called her the next day and Lexa gave her a bunch of names that could be useful. She also advised her to be prepared in case Connor contacted her; he might argue, he might threaten her and try to use her baby as leverage.

After that, peaceful sleep through the night was impossible, even though Bellamy assured her they were locked up tight and he wouldn’t miss a sound. He even asked Nathan to do some night surveillance around the bar.

Clarke was jittery and distracted; the smile the costumers had grown accustomed to as she served and cleaned up was missing. She kept looking outside, scanning the area. Everytime the phone rang, she tensed.

“Bellamy, if he called here you would tell me, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course. But he has your lawyer name, he shouldn’t call you.”

“Like he would care about that.”

Even Octavia tried to cheer her up, lure her out.

“Have you been outside in the past three days?” she asked her.

Clarke leaned close. “I’m fighting the urge to take your brother’s truck and run for cover.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Octavia said “With any luck, the lawyers will settle soon.”

“That would be a miracle.”

“I’m going to watch some _Friends_ episodes with Raven, Maya and Harper. Come with us – laugh a little.”

“I don’t know.” Clarke said.

“Clarke, you haven’t seen the sky in three days, come on, it’s just across the street. Well look both way.”

Bellamy, overprotective, walked out onto the porch and watched them cross the street. There was nothing out of the ordinary on the quiet main street. But when the show was over and the women were returning, Clarke’s worst fear was waiting for her, right in broad daylight, right on the street. Parked in front of the bar was a black SUV, and leaning against it was a man. Octavia didn’t notice him, she was chattering about Raven’s commentary on how you should run away from the Ross Gellers of the world when Clarke stopped walking.

“Oh God,” she said in a breath. She tugged at Octavia’s sleeve, stopping her in the middle of the street.

He was standing between them and the bar, one leg lazily crossed in front of the other, hands in his pockets as he watched them, a satisfied smile shaping his lips.

“No.” Clarke whispered.

“Is it him?” Octavia asked.

“It is” she said, drawing a fearful breath.

He pushed himself off the car and walked toward them, slowly and leisurely, like a predator. Octavia instantly put herself between Clarke and the man. “You can’t be here” Octavia said “There’s a restraining order.”

He ignored the brunette woman and looked at Clarke. “Who do you think you’re screwing with, huh? Come on, we’re going home!”

“Lincoln!” Octavia yelled, shielding Clarke from his approach. “Jesus, _Lincoln!_ ”

“No –” Clarke said in a near cry.

AS Clarke continued to back slowly away, Octavia held her ground. While the man approached, although he had a sinister twist to his mouth, he was clearly no match for the men waiting inside the bar, waiting to protect Clarke. This preppy man in his pleated pants and brown loafers was not like the big Mount Weather men. How could he inflict so much power, so much damage? He was smaller than Bellamy, _so_ much smaller than Lincoln, goodness, he was about Jasper size! With short black hair. A Pretty buy from the city. He was going to be very surprised.

Octavia caught a glimpse of Lincoln coming onto the bar porch just as Clarke turned and broke into a run. Connor Huner shoved Octavia roughly out of his way to give chase. Octavia stumbled and fell. She could hear Lincoln quick steps as he came to her aid; she refocused and looked over her shoulder to see that Connor caught up with Clarke, grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground. In a blur, Octavia watched as he drew back his foot and kicked her, shouting.

“What the _fuck_ do you think you’re gonna do, huh? _Leave me?_ ”

Lincoln glanced down at Octavia as he ran to Clarke’s rescue.

Just as Huner drew his foot back to deliver another kick to Clarke’s stomach, Lincoln hooked an arm around his neck, lifted him clear off the ground and away from Clarke. He whirled him and threw him from his victim; he landed a few feet away.

Bellamy, who had no doubt been in the kitchen when Octavia screamed, was the next out of the bar, Wick on his heels. A glance at Clarke found her struggling to sit up, a hand covering her face, her nose bleeding from her head first plunge onto the ground. Octavia crawled the short distance toward Clarke as Lincoln was trying to help her sit up when Bellamy came running into the street.

Bellamy saw that his sister and Lincoln were with Clarke and he went directly to Huner, who was still down. Bellamy bent at the waist, grabbed the man under his arms and lifted him straight up, clear off the ground. They were face to face, Connor’s feet swinging in the air. For a moment, a look of sheer terror showed on Connor’s face as he stared into Bellamy’s enraged eyes.

“I could hit you one time, jagoff, and you’d never get up.” Bellamy snarled into the man’s face.

“Bellamy!” Clarke cried. “Bellamy!”

Bellamy felt Wick’s hand on one of his arms “Bell, go get Clarke.”

He looked over his shoulder at her, sitting up, crying; her hand pressed over her nose and blood running down her chin. He held Connor off the ground effortlessly; he wanted to pummel him till he cried; he looked back at Connor’s shocked face staring into his eyes for a second, and thought, _I can’t get violent in front of her. She might think I’m like him, I’m not like him._ Bellamy dropped the man to the ground. He bent and got close to his disgusting face.

“Do _not_ get up” the he straightened, whirled and went to Clarke a few feet away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please levae a comment with your thoughts
> 
> Also if you want to yell at me, this is my [tumblr](http://bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All your comments and kudos were amazing guys, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. And for the new readers: hello! I'm happy you find this story worthy of your time. This chapter is sort of angsty and short (I did warned you to not get used to long chapters :P) Anyway, I hope you like it

“Bellamy!” Clarke cried. “Bellamy!”

Bellamy felt Wick’s hand on one of his arms “Bell, go get Clarke.”

He looked over his shoulder at her, sitting up, crying; her hand pressed over her nose and blood running down her chin. He held Connor off the ground effortlessly; he wanted to pummel him till he cried; he looked back at Connor’s shocked face staring into his eyes for a second, and thought, _I can’t get violent in front of her. She might think I’m like him, I’m not like him._ Bellamy dropped the man to the ground. He bent and got close to his disgusting face.

“Do _not_ get up” the he straightened, whirled and went to Clarke a few feet away.

“God,” Bellamy said. He got down on one knee and lifted her off the ground, into his arms. He stood with her against him.

“I’m okay,” she wept against his chest. “I’ll be okay.”

He took her shaking hand and pulled  it away from her face, seeing the blood running down, coming from her nose.

“Clarke, that should never have happened to you,” he said. He walked down the street toward the clinic.

Lincoln helped Octavia to her feet. She brushed herself off and stood for him. “I’m not hurt,” she said. “I just got off balance…”

“You sure?” Lincoln asked her. Octavia nodded and turned to see his brother carrying Clarke to the clinic, she took Lincoln hand and followed them.

Bravely, Jasper put himself between Wick and Connor, trying to stop the fighting. It only took him one look at Wick’s face to see the storm gathering on it, the way he clenched his fists open and closed, and decided that it was best to step out of his way.

Wick walked closer to Connor and stuck out a hand to assist him standing.

“Good thing you stopped him,” Connor said, referring to Bellamy, “I’d have had his ass,”

Wick pulled him to his feet with a snarl and once he was upright, threw a punch into his face that blew him across the street. He walked a few feet and stood over Connor, looking down at him. “Now you gonna have mine?” he asked.

“What the hell…?” Connor got clumsily to his feet, spitting out the blood, facing Wick, his fists up as a boxer would do. He retreated a few steps and came at him, aiming a kick to Wick’s face. The blonde grabbed his ankle and yanked him hard. Connor landed on his back. Wick reached down and pulled him to his feet by the front of his expensive silk shirt. He threw a punch into his gut, doubling the bastard over. Then another one to his face, reeling him back onto the ground.

At the clinic’s porch steps, while Lincoln and Octavia helped him get Clarke inside, Bellamy turned around and looked over his shoulder at what Wick was doing, then continued on.

“You’ve had it now” Connor said, with a strained, breathless voice.

“I haven’t had it quite yet,” Wick said, pulling him up again. He delivered one more blow to the man’s face, sending him landing on the dirt, rolling around, semiconscious. Wick brushed his hands together to remove the stain. “Now I’ve had it.” He said. “Jasper, tie his hands behind his back. I’m going to call Nathan.”

“Sure, Wick” Jasper said, sprinting off to the bar in search of a rope.

Raven, who got outside to see Wick’s delivering punches to the man shook her head. “Shame on you,” she said with a disappointing tone, but the amused gleam in her eyes told another story.

“I’m sorry Raven, but someone had to knock out the shit out of this asshole at least once, and if Bellamy had done that, this piece of garbage would never walk again. He should consider himself lucky.”

 

Clarke lay on the examining table in Lincoln’s clinic and Bellamy held her hand in both of his. “I let you down,” he was saying, so softly Lincoln barely heard.

“No,” she whispered. “No.”

“Clarke,” he kept talking softly. “Were you afraid I was going to hurt him?” her eyes shifted away from his face and he brushed a soft hand against her hair. “I could’ve hit him – but I don’t lose control Clarke,” he said, softly grabbing her chin and turning her head back to his face. “Clarke, I don’t lose control, okay?”

She nodded weakly. Octavia put an ice pack on Clarke’s face and told her to hold it there, then noticed that a dark stain was spreading in the crotch of her jeans.  She looked at her boyfriend with a worrying expression. “Bellamy, come with me, Lincoln is going to examine Clarke.”

“I’m sorry,” he told her again. “I let you down.”

Clarke put a hand on his cheek. He bent down a put a light kiss on her forehead and left, hanging his head. Lincoln knew the only way this could’ve been avoided was if Bellamy had been strapped to Clarke’s side every hour of everyday. Connor was quick and mean. Obviously crazy.

And now Clarke was bleeding, perhaps miscarrying.

He took a sheet out of one of the drawers and covered Clarke. He leaned over and said “Help me pull off your pants, Clarke. We have a problem. You might me miscarrying.”

Clarke started to cry, she cried softly and lifted her hips enough for the pants to be removed. Everything, absolutely everything she’d done so far was to save this baby, and she had failed.

Blood immediately began to pool beneath Clarke’s hips and Lincoln decided then not to examine her; he didn’t want to aggravate a hemorrhage, it was not like he could no anything to save that baby. He fixed her up with a pad, covered her again with the sheet and told her he’d be right back.

Harper was outside in the hall, waiting for him to finish the examination.

“We need to transport her, at least to Arcadia.” He told her “Please call Nyko and tell him we’re on our way. Tell Bellamy to bring the gurney, please”

“Spontaneous AB?” Harper asked with a sad expression.

“That was anything but spontaneous. I just hope it’s not an uterine hemorrhage.” He said in a worried tone. “I’m not going to examine her. Nyko will do it. Will you please tell him there was severe abdominal trauma? Bastard kicked her.”

Harper grimaced but nodded and went to talk to Bellamy.

Back in the exam room, Lincoln bent over Clarke. “I’m taking you to Nyko, Clarke. We need a specialist, we might even need a surgeon.”

“Am I losing the baby?” she asked weakly.

“I’ll be honest with you – it doesn’t look good. Bellamy will bring the gurney. Would you like him to go with you?

“No. I have to talk to him, though.”

When Bellamy rolled the gurney to the exam room, Lincoln told him to take a moment with Clarke.

“But be quickly,” the doctor said “I’ll need your help to load her.” Then he left.

Bellamy ran to her side and took her hand, the one that wasn’t holding the ice pack to her face.

“Bellamy, please make sure he doesn’t know where I am.”

“Nathan can –”

“No, Bellamy. I’ll be alright and I’ll feel safer if I know you’re taking care of things.”

“Anything you want,” he said “Clarke…”

“No, no more apologies,” she said “It wasn’t your fault.”

Bellamy assisted Lincoln in sliding Clarke from the exam table to the gurney and the bright red puddle of blood left behind caused his own blood to roar in his ears, he wanted to kill Connor, kill him with his bare hands, and make him feel the same pain he’d inflicted in Clarke. As he pushed the gurney out of the clinic, Jasper ran to help him down the porch stair to the waiting jeep. Bellamy’s vision blurred and his eyes clouded with unshed tears. “Everything will be alright, Clarke.” He said “I’ll take care of everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment with your thoughts 
> 
> If you want to yell or whatever at me this is my ~~trash can~~ [tumblr](http://bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com/)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are really lucky I've been able to finish a chapter in one sitting. The Obstetrics department have been in chaos in the last couple of days (it almost seems as if it were september, not june) and I come home super tired. Anyway, enough with my life, enjoy the chapter.  
> As always, un-beta'd

Bellamy assisted Lincoln in sliding Clarke from the exam table to the gurney and the bright red puddle of blood left behind caused his own blood to roar in his ears, he wanted to kill Connor, kill him with his bare hands, and make him feel the same pain he’d inflicted in Clarke. As he pushed the gurney out of the clinic, Jasper ran to help him down the porch stair to the waiting jeep. Bellamy’s vision blurred and his eyes clouded with unshed tears. “Everything will be alright, Clarke.” He said “I’ll take care of everything.”

 

 

Connor Huner had achieved a kneeling position in the street, his hands bound behind his back, his face bloody and swelling. Most of the town’s residents were watching the scene, some women were watching from her houses. Bellamy and Wick were sitting on the porch steps, watching. Wick’s hand was plunged into a bowl of ice when the sheriff’s deputy pulled in front of the bar. He had to drive carefully around the beaten man. Nathan got out of the trooper and hitched up his gun belt.

“Wick,” he said. “I never thought I’d get called for a fight involving you.”

“Ditto,” Wick said. He lifted his swollen hand. “I’d shake but…”

Nathan turned and looked at the sad figure behind him.

“You did that?”

“I did. The man threw Octavia to the ground so he could kick the shit out of his pregnant fiancée.”

“Whew.” Was all he said. He shook his head down. “He punched you?”

“Nah. I wasn’t going to let him hit me.”

“Then you beat him.” Nathan said, sighing. “You know I have to do my duty. I might have to hook you both up.”

“Whatever you have to do, Miller.” Wick said. “I feel anything but sorry for what I did.”

“At least you didn’t kill him.” The deputy said.

“He saved his life.” Bellamy said. “I was going to kill him.”

Nathan looked at Bellamy’s shirt and saw the blood staining the blue plaid.

“This is Clarke’s blood, I had to carry her to the clinic.” Bellamy said, looking down at the wide smear of blood on his shirt. “I better change this shirt,” he swallowed “I don’t want to keep seeing this.” He got up quickly, going inside.

“So,” Nathan said to Wick. “You did all that by yourself.”

“All by myself.” He said proudly.

“And Clarke?”

“She’s been taken to a specialist in Arcadia, one of Lincoln’s friends. She might be losing that baby.” He said, sadly. “That bastard knew she was pregnant, by the way.”

“Are there witnesses to this beating?”

“Plenty. There’s me, Bellamy, Jasper, Octavia, Lincoln, who took the woman to Arcadia. You can catch up with him later, it was an emergency.”

“Hey!” Huner yelled. “I’m over here!”

Nathan glanced over his shoulder again. “Yeah? Then shup up!” turning back to Wick, he said “I suppose I can trust you to stay in town?”

“Where am I gonna go, Miller?”

“Tell you what we’re going to do. I’m going to book him. And if my dad wants you to come in, you drive on over, okay?”

“Sure thing.”

The deputy shook his head again. “I just can’t figure out why anyone in his right head would bother any of your women.”

“Yeah. Makes no sense.”

 

The baby spontaneously aborted – miscarried – before Lincoln could even get Clarke to Arcadia. Nyko decided to perform a D and C to stop the bleeding, thankfully no further surgery was required. When Clarke woke from the procedure, Nyko told her that, fortunately, it appeared there had been no further damage to her organs. If she ever decided to get pregnant again, it wouldn’t be a problem. She would only stay through the night for observation and could be released in the morning, but Dr. Nyko wanted her to stay off her feet for a couple of days.

The next face she saw was Bellamy’s. He was sitting in a very uncomfortable plastic chair next to her bed.

“Hi,” he said softly.

She reached for his hand. “You came.”

“Yes, and everything is in order. I’ll come and pick you up in the morning.”

“Hmmm.” She said

“Clarke, are you awake enough for me to tell you some things?”

“I think so.” She said.

“Connor was arrested. Clarke, they found drugs inside his car. They wouldn’t tell me what, though. Nathan told he would be arranged for a couple of felonies. He’s going to have to go to trial. Judge Kane assured me it’ll be a fast trial – and believe me, if I have to stand over you twenty-four hours a day until he’s in prison; I’m willing to do it. I’m so sorry I let this happen to you.”

“You did all you could, Bellamy” she said sleepily.

“He’s not getting off this time. You did it Clarke, okay? You with me Clarke?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m with you.”

“Then…” he stumbled and swallowed. “Then, when he’s convicted and locked up, you can go back home if you want to. You can get your internship back and get in touch with your friends.”

“Home?” she asked

“You can do whatever you want.”

“How long will he be in jail?” she asked.

“No idea.” He answered. “Lexa is trying to get them to add attempted murder to his charges, given the baby, but that’s a real stretch.” He paused and lowered his voice. “I’m awful sorry for the baby, Clarke.”

“That baby,” she said weakly. “I tried, but with Connor… it just didn’t have a chance.”

He put his big hand against her abdomen; the most personal he’d ever been with her.

“I know you did. It wasn’t your fault. I’ve been thinking that… it was more my fault than yours, I failed you.”

“Bellamy, stop saying that.” She said, her tone stern. “Of all people, it was least of all your fault.”

He smiled, but that smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“You’re as good as free.” He told her,

“Free. I wont know how to act.”

“Think you’ll want to go back to your homeplace?” he asked

“I don’t know. So many bad memories.”

“If you want a place to sit for a while, while you think things over, you can have that room that smells like bacon and coffee in the mornings. For as long as you like.” Then, very quietly, almost to himself, he said. “For life, if you want.”

“I could help out.” She said. Eyes closed, she smiled sleepily. “I could do dishes.” Her eyelids fluttered a little, but she couldn’t keep them open.

He brushed her hair back. “Lincoln wants to build a house and I’m gonna help him. Jasper might need the extra hands. You…”

“Hmm,” she muttered.

“Okay,” he said, getting off the chair. “You’re done. You have to sleep.”

“Hmm,” she repeated.

He leaned over and gently touched his lips to her forehead. “I’ll be back for you in the morning.”

“Okay.”

Bellamy started to leave. She took a big breath. “Bellamy?”

He stopped and turned back to her bed.

“Could I? Stay there until I feel better?”

His chest felt suddenly full and heavy, as if it might burst. He tried to tamp down hope, to shut the hopeful images filling up his mind, but it was impossible.

“Of course. I love having you there. Everyone loves having you there.”

“I love being there. It’s nice.” She said, and her eyes closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can hate me if you want but this is how it was supposed to be. Things will get better and then awful and then better again.   
> Please leave a cokment and let me know what you thought.  
> You can yell at me or leave yopur love on my [tumblr](http://bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful readers. I finally found the time to post a chapter (my internship has been hell lately)  
> I hope you like it.  
> (Un-beta'd, blame every mistake on me)

He stopped and turned back to her bed.

“Could I? Stay there until I feel better?”

His chest felt suddenly full and heavy, as if it might burst. He tried to tamp down hope, to shut the hopeful images filling up his mind, but it was impossible.

“Of course. I love having you there. Everyone loves having you there.”

“I love being there. It’s nice.” She said, and her eyes closed.

 

***

Clarke was once again burrowed in Octavia’s old room. She had to recover from her D and C by staying off her feet for a couple of days; luckily, although she’d received a bloody nose, it was not broken. While she rested, Bellamy took care of the bar and took care of her. He would bring her food and tea, he would ask her how she was feeling every hour or so and he took breaks to talk with her for a few minutes. Lexa took care of the legal issues, trying to speed up the trial process, Judge Kane helped too.  While the trial was pending, Connor paid his bail and returned to his job before his boss could find out about the arrest. Bellamy was not happy with this – he made sure Nathan checked Connor’s workplace, and he did twice a day, making sure he was in fact there, hundreds of miles from Mount weather.

Judge Kane tried to get the case before a friend; the problem was that Judge Kane’s friend was judge in another county, which meant the case would go before a different judge. Connor had been found to be in possession of methamphetamine at the time he assaulted Clarke, a condition that his lawyer argued contributed to his crazed behavior and lack of judgement. Even with all the arguments, it seemed he would be convicted and the sentence could be huge. Holding onto a last hope, his lawyer pleaded for drug treatment and the judge allowed bail on the condition that Connor would stand trial after his rehab and that successful completion of the treatment could help him with sentence consideration. There were other conditions – if he checked himself out of treatment his bail would be revoked and he could await his trial in jail. The prosecutor’s office would be able to check his progress.

Lexa called Clarke. “Don’t take this decision as bad news,” she said. “It’s entirely possible that sobriety will make a huge difference in his perspective. And even if this doesn’t happen he’ll have to be cooperative to keep his sorry ass out of prison.”

“How long will he be in treatment?”

“It depends on his supervisor. He can quit the treatment by himself.”

“But… he’s very manipulative. He can convince his supervisor of being cured when he is not.”

“Yeah. But they all are, they know how to treat with these individuals.”

“I’ll be looking over my shoulder for months…”

“Clarke, with what you’ve been through you’ll be looking over your shoulder for as long as you’re alive. Ask Bellamy to teach you how to shoot.”

 It took her a couple of days of thought before she approached Bellamy with the idea.

“That’s worth thinking about,” he said “We could do that. I can take you to the woods, that’s where I taught Octavia how to do it. In the meantime, Nathan called his contacts to be sure the scum-bucket  was where he belonged, but they told him that he’s gone to the treatment center, so you should call the prosecutor’s office and check on him.”

“Oh,” she said kind of squeamish. “Maybe I could have Lexa to do that?”

“Think about it, Clarke,” Bellamy said. “Take control. You know I’m glad to look out for you, but it’s important you get your confidence back. That confidence I know you had before… all this”

Yes, she did. She had a lot of confidence. Not as much as other young women, but enough to get herself the things she wanted in life, the things she always dreamed of. And even when it seemed barely noticeable, that confidence was coming back, piece by tiny piece. The first clue was how she never thought she was going to get that restraining order, and now, with Bellamy at her side, encouraging she had done it. It was ugly and terrifying and took something really important away from her, but she’d gotten through it and Connor had been taken away in handcuffs. He might be in a privileged treatment program right now, but it wasn’t over. She was sure he would fail, and that meant he would be free of her own monster, at least for a few years. Now that she was on this track – getting free, getting her life back – she was determined to do what Bellamy had advised her days ago, she was going to stare her demon in the face. No matter how scared she was.

She stood in front of the kitchen phone, biting her nails, then with a sudden burst of courage, picked it up ad called. Bellamy smiled from the counter where he was dicing some carrots. She got with the A.D.A’s secretary on the phone and was told they hadn’t checked that day and might not have time to do it – perhaps she could call the next day. Suddenly, she was furious, more furious than she’d ever been before. “No!” she said. “Do you understand my life and my friends’ life are in constant danger from this man? That he’s threatened to kill me and if you take a look at my medical records, is obvious he almost _succeeded_? No. I’m not waiting until tomorrow. I’ll call back in an hour!” she hung up the phone, heart hammering in her chest. She was surprised the whole bar couldn’t heart it. Bellamy was standing with his hip against the counter and his arms crossed over his chest, looking at her proudly. She could feel the heat on her cheeks.

He smiled slightly. “There you go.” He said.

Her call was returned less than thirty minutes later by the assistant DA himself. He reassured her, and then gave her the number of the rehab center and the name of Connor’s supervisor. She returned to her nervous self and paced in front the phone with a worried expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Bellamy asked her.

“I don’t know. It’s like I’m afraid he’ll answer or something.”

“And what if he did?”

“I’d die!”

“No,” he said calmly and stepped closer to her. “You’d hang up, because you don’t have to talk to him ever again, right?”

She nodded slowly, surprised by that reality. Her mind started spinning then with all the possibilities, Connor was a manipulative pig, what if he convinced them he never touched her? What if he convinced them he was sorry? She picked up the phone immediately, punching in the numbers.

The phone was answered, the counselor she asked for was put and she said. “This is Clarke Griffin, I’m just calling to be sure Connor Huner  is still there.”

“All tucked in ma’am,” he said, his voice calm and friendly. IT helped settled Clarke's nerves. “Rest easy.”

“Thank you.” She said, weakly and hung up the phone.

Bellamy swallowed and smiled. “I know is hard,” he said, taking her trembling hands in his. “But everyday you take your life back a little more.”

 

It had been flowing over Bellamy like a steady wave since the first night she spent on his bar, and it grew. Being around her gentled him, made him want to be a better man, made him want to leave behind all the infamous titles he’d been given by all the women he never cared about emotionally. It also had another, more disquieting effect; when she brushed up against him, when he caught a whiff of her sweet, natural scent, he felt something he’s been very familiar with since he was around fourteen years old. He became aroused.

They had been in each other’s constant company for weeks, his affection for Clarke deepened by the day. By the hour. When he took her small hand in his, she never pulled it away and he loved that. Sometimes he’d drape an arm over her shoulders, just to let her know he was there, watching, taking care of her, and she would lean into him a little. And his hardened heart turned a bit softer.

He wanted this to never end.

Sometimes, when Bellamy closed the bar and Clarke was still awake, they would watch a movie together in the living room and nine out of ten times she would fall asleep before the end of the movie. And being there, with her sleeping in his arms was both blissful and painful. He would hear every soft noise, every soft snuffle, feel every little movement, and wonder what it might be like to lie beside her in a bed, bring her against him. When she showered in the morning and helped him cook breakfast right after, he’d get heady from the smells of her soap, her shampoo and her lotion. He was lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's something I never explained, and that is the meaning behind Connor's last name, it means monster, by the way. I always try to choose last names with meaning. Anyway, one quick question: do you think I should post this thing on my [tumblr](http://bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)?
> 
> You know I love comments and kudos <3


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I thought about it and I decided to post this on tumblr (not tonight tho, I don't want to encounter any teen wolf spoilers, I wont be able to see the episode till tomorrow)  
> Anyway, nothing really exciting happens on this chapter, except for Bellamy getting more and more head over heels for Clarke.

When Bellamy closed the bar and Clarke was still awake, they would watch a movie together in the living room and nine out of ten times she would fall asleep before the end of the movie. And being there, with her sleeping in his arms was both blissful and painful. He would hear every soft noise, every soft snuffle, feel every little movement, and wonder what it might be like to lie beside her in a bed, bring her against him. When she showered in the morning and helped him cook breakfast right after, he’d get heady from the smells of her soap, her shampoo and her lotion.

 

One morning they were making breakfast together, usually they would get in a comfortable silence Bellamy slicing onions and Clarke whipping some eggs; but that morning Bellamy was unusually chatty, asking her questions about her past life, about Wells.

That night after everything was ready and the bar was closed Bellamy took out his old laptop and got on the internet. He quickly found what he was looking for but it took him a few days to gather up the courage to show Clarke his findings.  He waited until they were both sitting in front of the TV.

“I…uh… I hope this wasn’t out of line. I found him. Your friend Wells.” He pulled a slip of paper out of his jeans. It was there in his rough handwriting, Wells’ full name with his address and phone number.

Her mouth actually gaped open as she stared at him, her hand hesitatingly reaching for the paper. She stared at it for a moment, her eyes going back and forth between the paper and his face. He swallowed.

“I was getting in your personal business again, but I just thought –”

She shrieked his name. He had never heard anyone doing that, not even Octavia when he bought her that motorcycle she had been asking for weeks. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him so fiercely he had to find support to not fall on the couch with her on top of him. He started to laugh at her excitement. She kissed him on both cheeks, several times, making loud smacking noises. He kept on laughing and hugging her, hating the thought of letting her go. He had to to it and it seemed too soon. Large, liquid blue eyes stared up at him, overcome, and on her lips was a phenomenal smile, a smile he wanted to keep there for as long as he could.

“How did you do this?” she asked in a breath.

“It was easy. I used the computer” he said “I can’t believe you never thought of that.”

She just shook her head. The truth was that Connor wouldn’t let her use the computer, it would have put her in touch with the outside world, a freedom he wouldn’t allow her to have.

“Go on.” He said. “Call him. Use the phone in my room instead of the one in the kitchen. Have some time with your friend.”

She got up and bent over to kiss him on his cheek again, laying her small hand against his other cheek. She looked at him with such gratitude, it melted his heart. She then whirled and ran to his room, gripping that piece of paper like a lifeline.

“Yeah,” he said to himself, under his breath, nodding. “I bet there’s lots of things I can do for her. Yeah.” He took the remote and switched to a sports channel.

A few minutes later, a blonde head appeared over the threshold of the apartment. Wick came into the room, looked at Bellamy and frowned. “What are you grinning about?” he asked.

“I’m not grinning,” Bellamy said, the goofy grin still plastered over his face.

“Bell, I didn’t know you had that many teeth.”

“It’s Clarke. I looked up something for her, got her all excited. That’s all”

“Kind of look like you got a little excited too. I think you’re flushed. And Jesus, you sure have a mouthful. You never showed _me_ a grin like that one.” He said, in a mocking tone.

_Yeah –_ he thought – _big mystery. You put your arms around me and kiss all over me like that, I’ll show you a mouthful – of fist._ But he couldn’t stop grinning. He could feel it and couldn’t stop it. Wick just shook his head.

“Man, seeing you smiling got me so confused I actually forgot what I came here to ask you.” He said, and left the room.

 

Clarke had so much to tell him. Wells was in DC and he was a stay-at-home dad, of all things! He had married a beautiful estate agent and had a baby daughter. He had helped her wife to fund her own agency and she even had celebrities as clients. They talked for what seemed hours until she heard the unmistakable sound of a baby crying and he had to say goodbye. But he was happy for her and the fact that she’d managed to put Connor away from her life. He also offered her a job on their agency, promising to keep in touch to give her more details.

“A job, could you believe it?” Clarke told Bellamy excitedly “He said, they’d love to have me there, and would train me as an agent.”

“Wow” Bellamy said. “That must have made you feel pretty good. Think you could do that?”

She laughed and put her hand on his arms. “I have one or two things to get settled before I even think about anything like that.” She said.

There were all kinds of details about her old friend’s life and she didn’t seem to leave out even the smallest one. He barely heard what she’d said, but he loved to see her this happy, this carefree. She laughed so much her cheeks got flushed and he smiled till his face hurt. They sat on that couch until very late. The sound of the TV drowned by Clarke’s excited talk.

“I don’t know how to thank you.” She told him. “It was so wonderful to talk to him.”

“You should talk to him as much as you can. Catch up on things.”

“It’s long distance, Bellamy.”

“Like I care. It’s not like I use that phone at all.” He said, dismissing her worries with a wave of his hand. “Call him everyday if you want. Think you’ll get to see him soon?”

“Maybe when things are fixed. I do want to check out his shop and his baby.” She said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and let me know what you think!  
> love you all!  
> -Jess


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really imnportant to me and it was really hard to write.  
> I want to dedicate it to [Maggie](http://www.bellohmyblake.tumblr.com/) cause she's the sweetest and let's be honest, she's one of the greatest Bellarke authors out there.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

“Maybe when things are fixed. I do want to check out his agency and his baby.” She said with a smile.

Two days later Clarke received a call from Connor’s lawyer. He told he had a message from Connor; he had a great deal of remorse and wanted to be cooperative. He told her Connor hoped they would remain as friends. He wanted to be released from treatment with a good report.

Immediately after that call Clarke called Lexa and told her.

“I don’t trust him for a second.” Clarke said.

“You shouldn’t. But his lawyer probably advised him to be as good as a lamb. If I were his lawyer I would tell him to be cooperative and blame everything on the drugs, that if he wants to keep his ass out of prison.”

“Lovely,” Clarke said. “He can still get out by pretending to be recovered.”

“It isn’t all that bad. If treatment is good and he puts himself in a remorseful mindset he might be truly sorry. After all, he hasn’t screwed himself up yet.”

“But… what if he doesn’t go to prison, or what if the sentence is shorter than what I’m hoping for?”

“Don’t lose your head over this, it depends on the judge. My advice? Avoid all contact with him, if he really does clean up, he’ll need to understand you.” Lexa said. “In the meantime, watch your back. Stay alert, remember, you know him better than anyone.”

“Oh my god, is he going to get out of treatment and show up here again?” Clarke said, panicking.

“He could. But my guess is he won’t. He needs to honor your agreement if he wants to stay free.”

 

Clarke brooded a little bit, hoping it didn’t show so much. Strangely, it wasn’t Connor or the trial that what occupied her thoughts, but Bellamy. Another month passed and she noticed she’d been in Mount Weather more than two months.  She kept on making friends and enjoying her time in the bar. Not a lot of things happened in the little town. Raven had to move in with Octavia and Lincoln after a storm sent a tree over her cabin, destroying her living room. Wick, even when he denied it a thousand times, was happy the mechanic was living next to him. Clarke found a sense of peace in the little town, there were times she could become lost in the present moment – oddly satisfied with the day-to-day simplicity of her new life, content to work alongside Bellamy in the kitchen. They were in sync, and it wasn’t rehearsed; he would chop the vegetables, she would scrape them into the bowl. He would shred the cheese, she would clean the grater. And she loved watching him – his movements so slow and steady, confident. Their talks in the evenings were like a reward. The sound of his voice as he talked about his family, kind of raspy and soft, comforted her.

She found herself wondering what it would feel like to be enfolded in those big arms, to feel his lips on her neck. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this; the last time she felt desire. She would have thought that being in his company for so many hours each day would reveal at least some minor faults, but she found none. He could be so sweet and tender with her, but then at other times – like when Connor appeared that horrible day, – he was every bit her hero. Now and then she’d ask herself if she was, once again, turning a blind eye to a man’s character. Was he somehow fooling her, reeling her in? But no – there wasn’t an unchivalrous bone in his body. And it wasn’t just her opinion – his friends and the entire town trusted him completely.

She was afraid of the realization that hit her. She was falling in love with him. She couldn’t remember feeling like this, being in love. At least, it seemed like love, because what she’d felt for Connor those early day when he was a charmer wasn’t even close to what she was feeling right now. This complete sense of trust, the safety she felt just being with him, the way his tender words and actions healed her battered soul, how her heart seemed to grow bigger and her world seemed to be brighter when he was there. It was love, there was no other explanation.

Sometimes she asked herself if she should brave rejection and tell him. _I want to stay right here with you, forever._ But she was terrified he’d get a stricken look on his face and explain, in his patient and direct way, that he thought of her as a good friend, that he was just doing the right thing. And he would insist – like he’d done a hundred times – he was not good enough for any woman.

That night she stayed in the bar after it was closed, cleaning the tables; it wasn’t long before Bellamy joined her. He went behind the bar and took a couple of glasses.

“Feel like something tonight?” he asked her.

“No thanks,”

“You’re a little quiet,” he told her softly. “Have been the last couple of days.”

She leaned her elbow on the bar, her chin in her hand. “I’ve been thinking a lot.” She finally said after a moment. “I’m single, and I just realized that. I have no idea what’s coming next.”

He poured himself his nighttime drink. “I have something that might help you figure it out.” He said. “Sit tight.”

He went back upstairs and Clarke could hear him walking in on his room. He came back with a long white envelope. He handed it to her.

“I wanted to give you this. If it doesn’t work out for you, no big deal.”

She opened the envelope and found a round-trip plane ticket to DC. “What’s this?”

“You’ve got a lot on your mind,” he said. “You are free for the first time in… I have no idea how long.  I imagined the reason why you’ve been so quiet is because you have no idea what’s ahead for you. You might want to visit that friend of yours now – check on that job offer. Just… just in case.”

“In case?”

“In case you decide to accept it.”

She put the envelope on the bar. This isn’t what she meant, not by a long shot. She knew – and it was not a recent realization – that she was right where she wanted to be.

“Bellamy, tell me the truth – are you ready for me to move out? The truth, Bellamy.”

His expression was stunned. “No!” he said. “I didn’t get you the tickets because I don’t want you here anymore. They’re round trip! I just thought – I know you miss him, and I know that eventually…” his voice trailed off.

She worried her bottom lip and looked up at him. “What? Eventually what, Bellamy?”

“Clarke, you grew up in a city, you were going to be a doctor! I know you can’t be happy here for long. I mean, once you get on your feet…”

 _Tell him!_ She challenged herself. _Tell him the only thing in the world that would make you happy is to stay here with him, forever!_ But she didn’t tell him that. “Right now I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”

“That’s why I got you the ticket. For a visit. You should have options in case you change your mind.”

She stood there in silence. How was she going to make him understand! “What if I go to DC and love it? What if I don’t come back? How would you feel about that?”

He smiled sweetly, then leaned across the bar and gave her one of his heart-melting forehead kisses. “Nobody I know deserves to be happy more than you, Clarke.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think!  
> (IF i manage to, and because I have no discipline or chill whatsoever I'll try to update tonight!)
> 
>  
> 
> [let's cry together](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com/)


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, this took me a lot of time. I started in the pediatrics service (pediatrics ER, a shitload of work btw) and got a sinus infection, but I'm better now, so here it is. Tell me what you think.  
> (Soon I might have to raise the rating of this fic, tell me if you'll feel comfortable with smut)  
> Enjoy!
> 
> You know I don't have a beta, any mistakes are mine.

She stood there in silence. How was she going to make him understand! “What if I go to DC and love it? What if I don’t come back? How would you feel about that?”

He smiled sweetly, then leaned across the bar and gave her one of his heart-melting forehead kisses. “Nobody I know deserves to be happy more than you, Clarke.”

 

Bellamy wanted her to be free to choose, that’s why he’d done it. He wasn’t stupid; he could tell she enjoyed herself in Mount Weather, with his friends in his little country bar. It made her feel safe and protected, she was…happy, or at least it seemed she was. He could never forget how she looked that very first night, all pale and thin and scared; and now she was almost a different person, a confident one, and she smiled a lot more, her skin was brighter and her body… he found he loved her new body, all the curves she’d gained thanks to his food. He was proud of the help he’d given her, but she should know if there was something better for her. He didn’t want her to stay because it was the easiest choice – it had to be her ultimate desire.

If she left, he was going to lose his mind. If she stayed, he was going to lose his mind.

She complained and hawed about the trip but in the end she went. She took his truck and drove herself to Arcadia and flew to DC, to her friend. She called when she got there and she did it again a couple of days later to say she loved the city and Wells’ wife, Sasha, was really sweet. Apart from their baby girl they had a big, friendly, newfoundland dog, she was in love.

While he was alone, Bellamy concentrated on planning Octavia’s birthday dinner, a custom he’s had since they’d arrived there. This time, he was grateful to have a big cooking job ahead to take his mind off things, off Clarke’s departure. He was making his grocery lists, getting his recipes – Octavia’s favorite recipes – ready and he decided, out of the blue, to cut his hair, the way he used to have it when his mother was alive.

“What going on with this?” Raven laughed, reaching up to brush his now shorter hair.

“I… I don’t know, I guess I want it short now.”

“I like it.” She said. “Have you told Clarke you cut your hair?”

“Why would I do that?” he asked her.

She shrugged. “I guess things that pass as news to women are not quite as interesting to men.” She said. “Have you heard from her this week?”

“She called. She said she’s having a nice visit. Her friend has a dog and a baby and she’s in love with both.” He wiped down the counter. “You think Marcus would let me have a dog here?”

She laughed. “Bell, what’s the matter? You miss her so much?”

“Nah. It’s… It’s good.” He said. “Clarke hasn’t seen her friend in years.”

He went into the kitchen, his head down. _Hell,_ Raven thought, _he’s broodier than ever._

Wick sat down next to her with a beer on his hand.

“He’s killing me” Raven told him. “Look at him – he’s miserable. He’s so in love with her he can’t think. And I’m sure he won’t say a thing. Seeing him cooking alone now is like seeing him with an amputation. He needs to call her – tell her he misses her.”

Wick lifted an eyebrow and peered at her. “You don’t want to get into that,” he said “Did you forget about Lincoln’s incident?”

At night, after Jasper had gone home and the last costumers of the night had left, Bellamy went up and instead of going to his bedroom he went into Clarke’s. He noticed she left a lot of her things behind, but that did not encourage him. He couldn’t believe she’d come back here. To him. If she returned at all, it would be for her things. He didn’t think he had anything to offer her beyond safety, he was sure of it. Probably Wells and her wife could give her that and more.

 

A major cooking event always helped Bellamy take his mind off things. When his mother was alive, they would cook together everytime a new problem appeared, if they received a letter from the bank, they would cook, if they had no money to pay for the energy bills and ended up without it, they would cook while Octavia held a flashlight and then they would eat wrapped in blankets and playing games under the candlelight.

Octavia’s birthday was big enough to have half of the young  adults of Mount Weather inside the bar. Jasper and Maya arrived early to help with the cooking. They talked happily the whole day, talking about how next year Maya wouldn’t be able to help, being with the new baby and all that.  Bellamy was silent, doing his work. When everything was ready he went into the bar to get some glasses and utensils.

“What’s up with Bell?” Maya asked in a concerned whisper “He coming down with something?”

“Yeah, he is coming down with something!” Jasper whispered back. “Clarke, that’s what. It’s like he thinks she’s never coming back.”

“She’s due back Monday, right?”

“Of course! He bought her the tickets, told her to go, and now it’s killing him” he said “He even cut his hair, and I’m pretty sure he did it for her.”

Since Bellamy was never a force of personality, the change in his mood was only noticed by his friends. When people started to arrive for Octavia’s party, the tables were pushed together to make a long one with plates set and Marcus started setting up drinks and glasses of wine. Bellamy brought out a couple of trays with appetizers and put the bread in the warmer and had the stuffed chicken breasts out of the oven to sit a minute. Great smells filled the place and with all their friends, the place was cozier than ever.

Bellamy, who loved to give this moment to his sister every year, found himself whishing this were over with so he could be alone. He looked forward to everyone leaving; he’d take his time cleaning up the place, have a shot of whiskey and go to bed. Hopefully, with all the things he’s done today, he would sleep.

It was minutes before everyone started to eat, when the door to the bar opened, and there, in the frame, stood Clarke. She held her bags on both of her hands and looked into the room, scanning the faces until she found Bellamy. When she spotted him behind the bar, her eyes lit up so much, they glittered. As for the big man, shock settled over his features; his mouth actually gaped open.

It seemed like there was nobody else in the room. As she walked toward the bar, he came around it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get here in time to help.” She said, with a smile.

She dropped her bags, wrapped her arms around his waist and looking up at him, she said with a smile “I hope you have room for one more.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked softly.

She shrugged. “I changed the tickets. I wanted to be here. With you. I hope you missed me a little bit.”

“A little bit,” he said. And then, for the first time since she left to DC, he smiled and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

 

Usually Octavia’s party ended up really late, but that year, the party broke up a little earlier than planned, everyone in the room being aware of the hot gazes that Clarke was sending Bellamy and Bellamy was clearly receiving them even when he didn’t seem to be successfully interpreting them. Everyone helped with the cleanup, even Raven, who was known for being everything but tidy. They all wanted the couple to be alone.

“Do you have any idea of what’s going on with them?” Octavia asked her fiancée later that night.

“Before or now?”

“Before”

“I have no idea.”

“And now?”

“Right now I bet that old bar is shaking so hard is about to come off its moorings.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? Was it good?  
> [let's cry together](http://bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, it's been a while.  
> All you need to know is that I've been sick, like really sick and busy, so I spend most of my free time sleeping.   
> Anyway, here you have it.

“Do you have any idea of what’s going on with them?” Octavia asked her fiancée later that night.

“Before or now?”

“Before”

“I have no idea.”

“And now?”

“Right now I bet that old bar is shaking so hard is about to come off its moorings.”

 

Bellamy washed the last of the dishes, swept the bar floor and turned the open sign off before putting on a fire and fixing two chairs in front of it. He walked towards the bar and served himself some scotch and poured Clarke a glass of wine. A couple of seconds later she came down, and smiled at Bellamy’s clear invitation; her cheeks were pink and her lips were curved in a soft smile when she reached for the glass of wine.

“It was a wonderful dinner Bellamy,” she said, sitting in front of the fire “You outdid yourself.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to come back early,” he sat next to her “Did something happened in DC?”

“Oh no,” she shook her head. “It was great, fantastic, in fact. Wells’ wife is great. They’re both working like dogs but it’s paying off, they are really successful. I’m really proud of them.” She smiled. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see them.”

He shrugged like it wasn’t important. “You missed him,” he said

“And guess what?” she said, taking a sip of her wine. “After a few days, I missed you. I missed Octavia and Lincoln. I even missed Jasper,” she laughed “And the kitchen! God, how I missed it.”

“Did... did he offer you that job again?” he asked tentatively, afraid of her answer.

“He did. I told him I’d keep it in mind, but I don’t think I’d end up doing it.”

Bellamy was pretty sure he hadn’t heard right. “Are you planning on doing something different?” he asked.

She lifted one eyebrow. This man was an expert on missing the point. “Bellamy, right now, I’m fine. I’ve asked you before and I’m trusting you to tell me the truth – you say it’s okay I’m here, when it’s not really what’s good for you or the bar I hope you tell me.”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

She laughed. “No, you wouldn’t, but you’ve been known for delaying the information”

“Aw, come on, don’t say that” he smiled “If you must know my mother raised me to be honest. She had this ear-twist…”

Clarke smiled at him and sipped her wine. Back in DC she’d had a lot of late-night talks with the Jahas. Sasha was a great listener, and while Wells busied himself with baby duties, she would sat up and listened to the saga of meeting Bellamy, of his confrontation with Connor, of Bellamy’s teary eyes while he pushed the stretcher to the jeep that horrible day. 

“He’s been like that since the first day,” she told her one night “The way he holds me up when I break down… It’s one of the things that convinced me to stay.”

“That is really awesome, that he supports you,” Sasha said “But you can’t stay there forever because of how protective he is, you know.”

“That isn’t all there is,” she said softly, “It’s how he is with me. But he’s so quiet, so reluctant. I don’t know if he’s just shy or if he’s just trying to do the right thing…”

Sasha had laughed and said, “Make him tell you.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve completely forgotten how to flirt. No surprise. Let him know you want to be there, let him know he makes you feel wonderful. You’re a girl ready, ready for a guy like him. Flirt with him a little, if he’s not interested he’ll let you know right away.”

 

Clarke looked at Bellamy’s shiny brown eyes. “You’re sure it’s okay that I am still here?”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you here,” he said.

“That’s good,” she said. Taking a big sip of her wine, she stood up and kissed his forehead. She let her lips linger there, while she spoke softly. “This is the only place I want to be. By the way, the new hair is sexy, very sexy.”

With that, she went up the stairs back to her room, while an open mouthed Bellamy froze in his chair, thinking he was going to pass out.

 

In that time of the year the fishing season was on its peak, fishermen came in droves to the town, which meant the bar had plenty of visitors.  Many of those more experienced had been there before and considered Bellamy and Jasper friends. That year they met with delight the new face on the scene.

Clarke was happy, for the first time since her parents’ death she was happy. She delivered drinks and meals, cleaned tables and laughed with the costumers. She threw adoring looks at Bellamy when they were both in the same room at the same time, it did not go unnoticed. The patrons talked a lot about weather conditions, the size of the catch and the best places to get good fish. But this time something came up on their conversation, and it was Bellamy’s apparent catch.

“Where’d Bell find this young beauty?” One of the men asked Jasper.

“I think she found him,” Jasper said, pouring the man a cup of coffee.

“Shouldn’t he be smiling a lot more, then?”

“You know Bell – he doesn’t like to show much emotion.”

As for Clarke, she thought Bellamy was responding to her, in small ways. He certainly wasn’t pushing her away, and she took that as encouragement. Lips touched cheeks and foreheads more often; there was the occasional embrace. The best part of her day, was that time late at night, after the last patron left the bar and the tables and chairs were cleaned and the sign was flipped off. She and Bellamy would spend their private time together, talking in soft tones in front of the fire, laughing; she shared stories about her parents and he did the same with stories about her mother and sister. He had begun giving her a very brief kiss on the lips before going to his room, it was almost like a peck, but to Clarke it was wonderful. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Soon, she hoped, he would realize that what she felt for him was just not gratitude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it seems like nothing has happened but I'm smoothing my way to the smut (i'm really anxious about it, you know?)  
> Next chapter we'll have Lexa (and maybe a bit of jealous!bellamy because, let's face it, we love it)


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! More than 450 kudos, I'm so happy.  
> Sorry for being a little late, life has been pretty rough with me lately.  
> Anyway, here's the chapter, enjoy!

As for Clarke, she thought Bellamy was responding to her, in small ways. He certainly wasn’t pushing her away, and she took that as encouragement. Lips touched cheeks and foreheads more often; there was the occasional embrace. The best part of her day, was that time late at night, after the last patron left the bar and the tables and chairs were cleaned and the sign was flipped off. She and Bellamy would spend their private time together, talking in soft tones in front of the fire, laughing; she shared stories about her parents and he did the same with stories about her mother and sister. He had begun giving her a very brief kiss on the lips before going to his room, it was almost like a peck, but to Clarke it was wonderful. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Soon, she hoped, he would realize that what she felt for him was just not gratitude.

 

 

After two weeks of thinking it through, Lexa decided she wanted a bit of peace. Ever since Costia’s death her work had been her shelter, but right now it didn’t feel like it.  She called her boss and asked for a couple of weeks, took all the stuff she needed and threw them in the back of her SUV, and headed north, to Mount Weather.

When she arrived there a surprised Lincoln hugged and kissed her and told her she could stay there for as long as she wanted. She never really liked that town. It was too silent… too boring, but it was exactly what she needed right now.

So she stayed. And for the first few days she remained in her room, working through her computer and phone and listening to his cousin’s friends come and go out of the house. She was glad Lincoln was happy, he deserved it. The third day of her stay she decided she needed to take a look around. Octavia gave her a tour, their first stop was her brother’s bar.

“Come inside,” Octavia told her “There’s someone there you haven’t met, even though you helped her a lot.”

They went up the few creaky stairs of the front porch and went inside the old building. The place was filled with people of all ages, sitting in booths and tables, enjoying steamy cups of coffee and tasty looking slices of pie. Octavia yelled for Bellamy and he came out of the kitchen, wearing his apron. He smiled when he saw them and came around the bar.

“Lexa,” he said, smiling. “It’s good to see you”

She smiled back. This was their usual terms; they were polite to each other. She cared about Bellamy as much as she cared about any of Lincoln’s friends but for some reason they never seemed to pass from an awkward polite relationship.

“I decided to visit the family, take some days off.” She told him.

“Want some coffee?” he offered her, “I just made a fresh pot.”

“Oh, thanks. Maybe you could set me up some of that pie too, it looks great.”

“You bet.” He said.

And then she came out of the kitchen. Lexa almost chocked. She smiled at her and said “Hello. You must be Lexa.” She went to stand next to Bellamy, and he, with his eyes focused on the shine in Lexa’s, dropped an arm around her shoulders, claiming her. God, Lexa thought. The lonely Bellamy had a woman. And what a woman.

“Yeah.” Lexa said slowly. She was gorgeous. Soft, light blond hair fell in silky waves to her shoulders. She had skin like creamy satin and rose-colored lips with a beauty mark just above her upper lip. Warm, sexy blue eyes surrounded by a lot of lashes and perfectly arched brows. With Bellamy’s arm around her, she leaned against him.

“I just don’t get it,” Lexa said with a laugh. “You two somehow found two of the sexiest women I’ve seen in this god-forsaken town, it’s unbelievable.”

They all laughed. The rest of the day they spent it in the bar, talking and drinking. Lexa thought that she had made the right decision coming all the way up to this town.

 

***

 

Living all his life in Mount Weather, Nathan Miller knew where to get the best catch. It didn’t matter if it walked or lived underwater; he was going to get it on his plate. That afternoon he was fishing and his best friend was by his side.

Bellamy pulled in his third catch of the day, a good-size fish; Nathan was sure it would make a great dish under his friend’s talented hands. Bellamy started out of the river, his head down. This weird silence had been stretching out, and the deputy knew, something had Bellamy on the ropes.

Shaking his head, he went after his friend. “Hey Bell,” he called. “Hold up.” Nathan caught up with him. “We have enough fish for tonight?”

Bellamy nodded and turned away, moving toward his truck. Nathan grabbed the sleeve of his slicker. “Man, I gotta ask you something. What the fuck is eating you?”

“What do you mean?” the big man replied, frowning.

Nathan shook his head in frustration. “You have this beautiful woman under your roof. You watch over her like a papa bear. She's a sweet cuddly young beauty to knock boots with every night, and you’re _depressed._ I mean, you are obviously depressed!”

“I’m not depressed!” he said “And I haven’t knocked boots with anybody.”

“What?” Nathan asked, confused. “What?”

“You heard me. I haven’t touched her.”

“She have issues?” Nathan asked. “Does it have something to do with the abusive ex or something?”

“No.” Bellamy said. “ _I_ have issues”

Miller laughed. “Yeah? You don’t want her?” Because she ob – ”

“I don’t know what to do.” Bellamy said suddenly. Then he averted his eyes.

“Sure you do, Bell. You take off your clothes, she takes off her clothes…”

Bellamy snapped his head back. “I fucking know where all the parts go. I’m just… I’m not sure she’s ready for that…”

“Bellamy, my man, do you have eyes? She looks at you like she wants you to – ”

“Jesus, she scares me to _death!_ I’m afraid I’ll hurt her,” he said, then shook his head miserably. _what the hell,_ he thought. _Nathan’s my best friend. If I can’t tell Nate, I can’t tell anyone._ But he said, “You say anything about this and I’ll swear to god I’ll end you.”

Nathan just laughed. “Why would I tell anyone? Bellamy, you’re not going to hurt her.”

“What if I do? She’s been through so much. She’s so soft and delicate, and I’m – fuck, I’m just a clumsy lug.”

“No, you’re not.” Nathan said, laughing again. “Bell, you don’t even break the yolks. You’re – well, you’re big, that’s for sure.” He chuckled. “You’re probably big all over” he said, shaking his head. “Believe me, women don’t mind that.”

Bellamy’s chin went up and he frowned, not sure whether he’d been complimented or insulted.

“Listen buddy,” Nathan said “You don’t have the problems you think you have. You have to trust yourself.”

“That’s just – I don’t – I’m afraid I’ll go out of my mind. Do something that I’ll – hurt her.” He looked at his hand. “What if I get too into it and I leave a bruise on her? I’d wanna die.”

“Okay, you listen to me. Here’s what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna tell Clarke what’s been bothering you, okay? That you haven’t touched her because you’re afraid you might be too rough with her, and you don’t want to be. She’ll help you, Bell. She’ll get you through this. Goddamn man – the girl wants you so bad it’s distracting.” He shook his head. “Man, the way she looks at you, I figured you haven’t let her sleep in two weeks.”

“I don’t – I don’t really think either of us is sleeping…”

“Well, hell – how could you? You gotta get this monkey off your back!” And Nathan immediately though, I _can relate. I’ve been attracted to someone for months now and I haven’t been able to do something about it because I’m the fucking sheriff’s son and this is a fucking small town_. He’d give anything to be with Monty for a long, slow night. He was just about out of his mind himself.

“You know I have been with a lot of women,” Bellamy said, bringing him back from his thoughts. “But not a lot of them… mattered.”

“That’s good. That’s a good thing. You’re being serious with her – you get points for that! You just have to be willing to – Jesus, I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Bellamy frowned blackly. For a second Nathan thought, if he hits me, I’m not like Lincoln, I’m not letting him get away with it. “Okay, listen. You just have to be willing to pay attention to details. The details, Bellamy. The sounds she makes when you…uh… when you touch her. Tell her to show you what…. Arrgghh” he growled in frustration. He forced himself to go on. “What she likes. That way you’ll know if you’re hurting her.”

“Man…” Bellamy said, helpless.

“Well, hell, I guess someone had to tell you.” Nathan said, smiling. “You guide each other, Bellamy. That’s the best way.”

“I never had… you know.”

“Someone you loved.” He said. And it wasn’t a question.

“Yeah” he said, hanging his head. “God. It never mattered that much before. I guess I should feel like crap because all those other times I was looking only for my own pleasure but…”

“Get a grip, Bellamy” Nathan said, laughing again.

“You tell anyone about this and I swear to God – ”

“I know, I know. You’re gonna kill me.”

He took his pole and threw it in the back of Bellamy’s truck. _Damn,_ Nathan thought. _The poor guy, the poor_ girl!

 

***

 

When Lexa walked into the bar no one was there. Well, the place tended to stay pretty empty on storms. She just wanted a drink to feel a bit warm, the storms always seemed to remind her of Costia.

The fire had begun to die down, so she went to the fireplace took a dry log from the pile next to it and threw it inside, stirring it a little, sending up a flame.

She looked at her watch. Three o’clock. He could pour herself a drink. Bellamy wouldn’t mind. Instead of doing it, she walked to the kitchen. Clarke was in there, kneading a big wad of dough, her back to the door.

“Hey,” Lexa said.

Clarke turned around and as quickly as she did so, turned back to the dough. There had been tears on her face. Lexa frowned. What was this? Trouble in paradise?

“Hey,” she said again, walking up behind her, squeezing her upper arm with her hand “what’s going on?” she asked her.

“Nothing,” she said with a sniff.

Lexa turned her around to face her. She looked at her pretty face and for the hundredth time though that Bellamy didn’t know what he had there. “This isn’t nothing” she said, wiping a tear from her cheek.

“I can’t talk about it.” She said.

“Sure you can. You’re all upset”

“I’ll work it out.”

“Bellamy do something to hurt you?”

She immediately started to cry and leaned forward, her head falling on her shoulder. She put her arm around her and said “Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay”

“It’s not okay,” she cried “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

“Maybe if you talk to me I can help. I’m so good with free advice,”

“It’s just that… I care about him, but he just doesn’t find me…”

Lexa lifted her chin. “What, Clarke?”

“He doesn’t find me attractive.”

“Bullshit.”

“Desirable.”

“Clarke, that’s nonsense. The way he looks at you, he eats you with his eyes. He’s wacko for you.”

“He won’t touch me.” She said. A fat, large tear spilling over.

That almost knocked Lexa down. “no way.”

She nodded sadly.

“Oh god,” Lexa said. She’d thought, everyone thought, they were doing it all night long. The way they looked at each other, like they couldn’t wait for everyone to leave so they could be alone, get it on. Those sweet little kisses on the cheek, the forehead. The way they touched – careful, so no one would see the sparks fly, but the sparks were flying all over the bar! The sexual tension was electric! “Oh god” she said again. She put her arm around her. “Clarke, he wants you. Wants you so bad is showing all over him.”

“Then why?”

“I don’t know, honey. Bellamy’s strange.” She said. “Maybe he’s scared.”

“How can he be? I’ve practically thrown myself at him! He isn’t going to face rejection!” she dropped her gaze and lowered her voice to a whisper “he has to know how much I…”

“Then you be patient. He’ll come around.”

She nodded and smiled weakly. Lexa dropped a sisterly kiss on her forehead. “It’s going to be alright.”

“You think so?”

“Oh yeah. Don’t give up on him.” She squeezed her shoulder. “Now go wash your face.”

Clarke hurried to the sink. When Lexa turned around to go get herself a drink, Bellamy was standing in the back door with a bucket full of fish. Clarke skittered past him, keeping her head down so he wouldn’t see her tears. Bellamy scowled at Lexa.

“Need something?” he asked.

“I just came for a drink, to warm myself up.”

“Help yourself.” He said harshly, throwing his catch into the sink.

 

That night, like almost every night, the dinner had been amazing. It was a stuffed trout that was nothing short of wonderful. It was a lot of trouble – fileting the fish, making the dressing, putting it in the fish without ruining it. It was one of Clarke’s favourites. He served it with a soufflé, warm pasta and bread. It was good to make this kind of meals, it took his mind off things.

He cursed. He’d seen her leaning against Lexa; seen Lexa kiss her forehead, smile and whisper to her. Well, he wouldn’t be surprised if she fell for Lexa. Lexa was sexy, a a talented lawyer from the capital. Always successfully wooing women. So if that’s how it went, that wouldn’t surprise Bellamy. He’d thought from the beginning that Clarke only saw him as a good friend, a man that could protect her. All that business with the sweet smiles and kisses, the embraces – she was probably just ready, period. Not necessarily for him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm raising the rating because next chapter is THE CHAPTER (I'm so nervous)  
> Please tell me what you though (did you see I put some minty in this chapter? - they are my kryptonite)  
> [Remember that we can cry together](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com/)  
> <3 Thanks for all the love


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so nervous I'm shaking. That's all I'm going to say about this chapter.

He cursed. He’d seen her leaning against Lexa; seen Lexa kiss her forehead, smile and whisper into her. Well, he wouldn’t be surprised if she fell for Lexa. Lexa was sexy, a talented lawyer from the capital. Always successfully wooing women. So if that’s how it went, that wouldn’t surprise Bellamy. He’d thought from the beginning that Clarke only saw him as a good friend, a man that could protect her. All that business with the sweet smiles and kisses, the embraces – she was probably just ready, period. Not necessarily for him.

Now it embarrassed the hell out of him what he’d said to Miller.

That night the meal was a success, and the delicious bread that Clarke had made was one of the highlights.

“You did good,” he told her.

“I did exactly what you showed me to do.” She said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good” he lied. “I think I might be getting a virus or something”

“Did you take anything?” she asked, worried.

“No. but it’s okay.”

“I’ll get you something. Aspirin or something else.”

“Nah. Forget it, I’ll be fine.”

Clarke frowned and got close to him. He ignored her,  turned to clean the kitchen counter and watched as Lincoln held Octavia’s coat for her. Lexa was sitting in a table drinking the last of her coffee.

“You coming, Lex?” Lincoln asked.

“I’ll catch up, it’ll be just a minute”

“Don’t overstay,” Lincoln advised, signaling with his eyes to the couple in the kitchen.

“I’ll be right behind you.”

When everyone had gone – even Clarke, who stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs – Lexa moved to the bar. Bellamy started putting chairs up on the tables to do the last sweeping of the day.

 “Hey, Bellamy, come here a minute, would you?” Lexa said, interrumpting his angry thoughts

Reluctantly, Bellamy went around the bar. _Don’t tell me now, please don’t tell me about you and Clarke now,_ he was mentally pleading. _I don’t want to hear about it. Just let it happen and I’ll live with it, I’ll find a way to live with it, I never really thought I had a chance, anyway._

“Have a drink with me,” Lexa said. “A short one, it won’t take long, I promise”.

Bellamy got down two glasses and poured them each a shot.

“I’m gonna tell you something,” Lexa begun, “And you’re going to act like you never heard it. You get me?”

“Sure,” Bellamy said, throwing back the shot for courage.

“I caught your girl crying today”

Shock settled over Bellamy’s face.

“That’s right. And the thing is, she can’t figure you out. I think she loves you, Bellamy. She’s waiting. She needs some attention, you with me?”

Bellamy nodded solemnly. He wasn’t going to go there with Lexa.

“She thinks you don’t find her attractive”

“That’s crap,” Bellamy said. He poured himself another shot.

“I’m telling you. You don’t have any excuses here. If you don’t step up, she’s going to think you don’t want her. Don’t care about her. And believe me, I’d hate if she thought that because I’m looking at the two of you, and I think I’d be a damn fucking shame if you lost one another because you are an idiot. Now, I’m not going to try and guess why it’s not happening, and I don’t want you to tell me, but it’s time to make it happen.”

Bellamy threw back his second shot, while Lexa merely lifted hers, not drinking.

“I thought you were messing with my girl.” Bellamy confessed.

“No. I was telling her to try to be patient with you because of your, you know, extra-low IQ.” And she smiled. And Bellamy found himself thinking that maybe he’d been an idiot not to consider Lexa a friend too.

 

A few minutes later, Bellamy, his insides tight, went to his room. He shaved and showered quickly. He put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He looked at his bed and drew the quilt down, folding it with trembling hands. He went downstairs, waiting for her like he did every night.

He stirred up the fire a little bit and sat on his usual chair, his feet up in front of the fireplace. When she came into the room he turned and looked at her beautiful face in the semi-darkness of the room.

“Come here, Clarke.” He held out a hand to her and brought her onto his lap. He ran his big, tanned hands down her sides to her waist and leaned toward her. She met his lips for a short, sweet kiss, like the ones they were used to. But he didn’t pull back; he made it long, slow and lovely. His lips opened slightly and with his knuckles, he brushed softly against her breast and felt her sigh against his open mouth. She moved her hands to cup her face and rubbed one of them along his cheek.

“You shaved” she whispered.

“Yes, I didn’t want to go hard on your skin,” he paused “Mmmm. Clarke, you have any idea how I feel about you?” she just looked at him. “How much I feel for you?”

“You haven’t really said…”

“I should have. But I – ” he stopped and took a breath. “Clarke, what I feel for you, it just gets stronger every day” she smiled into his dark eyes. “I want you,” he continued. “But I didn’t know if you were ready…”

“I am,” she said in a whisper.

“I’ve been worrying, I’m… uh, I’m afraid I’ll hurt you, I don’t want to do anything that hurts you.”

She was stunned for a moment. Seeing the precious look in his dark eyes, she pressed her lips against his and kissed him again, slowly. “You’re the gentlest, sweetest man I’ve ever known. One thing I’m sure is that you’re not going to hurt me.” She said against his mouth.

“I’ve never wanted to do things right more than with you,”

“Good.” She smiled. “It makes me feel really special.”

He pulled her harder against his mouth, kissing her deeply, feeling her small tongue entering as her arms tightened around him.  With his arms beneath her he stood up, lifting her. He kissed her again. And again. As he carried her toward the stairs, he felt her mouth against his neck, pressing soft kisses there, sucking gently at his earlobe, making small, beautiful noises. His knees almost gave up.

Halfway to the stairs he put her over the bar and began to work the buttons of her shirt. She slipped her hands under his t-shirt and ran them over his smooth chest, teasing his nipples. He spread her shirt open and over her shoulders, letting it drop. He looked down at her. Her lush, ivory skin was flawless. He was glad there was no reminder of her past. She reached her hands behind her and unhooked her bar, flinging it away. For a moment – a very brief moment – he just stared, filling his eyes with her full, beautiful breasts. When he met her eyes, she was smiling up at him, pleased to have his eyes on her.

She melted against him, her hands touching him in a way she’d never dreamed would be reality. He was so hard and warm and, oh god, his hands gripped her hips, jerking her tighter against him and dissipating what tiny space there’d been to begin with. But he wasn’t done. He nipped her bottom lip, sending sparks through her entire body. His hands where everywhere, on her breasts, on her back and down her spine, grabbing her ass and grinding her against him.

“Clarke” he groaned against her mouth, “Oh, sweetheart, this could be over way too fast…”

She laughed softly and kissed his neck, his cheek, his lips. “Lucky for us, we don’t get just this one time.”

He grabbed her face and kissed her. No. he _claimed_ her. She dug her fingers into his hair and gave herself over, looping one leg around his waist so she could rub that hard length exactly where she needed him. The feel of him sent a sensory overload that pushed her damn near the edge. She rocked against him, but the friction only heightened her need. They had to get out of the rest of their clothes, immediately.

Apparently he was thinking the same thing, because he kissed his way down her jaw to her neck and lower. The sight of Bellamy’s mouth trailing kisses between her breasts was too much, so she closed her eyes and focused on just feeling. And, lord, it felt good. Better than good.

He worked off her pants and sat back on his heels and just looked at her, his gaze tracing over her face, to her breasts and down to her feet. “You’re beautiful, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” And he said with such a loving tone, she believed him.

He leaned forward and nipped her hipbone, sending more of those delicious sparks through her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he did it on the other side, a whimper slipping free.

“ _Bell_ ,”

“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” His voice was hoarse, his lips barely leaving her skin.

Her panties slid down her legs, helped along by his teeth. Oh god, was he really going there? She bit her lip against the need to beg him to stop. “You really don’t have to – ”

He looked up and met her gaze, his brown eyes gone completely dark with something like need.

“Oh, but I want to.”

Bellamy ran his tongue along the curve of her thigh. She tasted like the best kind of drug, and her shaky indrawn breath only spurred him on. He wanted to make her feel good, to make her feel like the most wanted woman in the face of the earth, he wanted to erase all the bad memories; and he was going to do it.

He damn well knew he should get her upstairs to his room, make the night special, but he couldn’t wait that long. “Christ, Clarke, you have no idea how much I want this,” he dragged his tongue over her wetness. It was so much better than anything conjured by his imagination. Another taste only confirmed it. He needed this, needed her. With a groan he explored her with his mouth, enjoying not only her taste but her cries, the feeling of her fingers twisting in his hair. Her hips bucked as she tried to move against his mouth, but he pinned her in place as he circled his tongue over her clit.

“Oh my god, don’t stop.” She breathed out.

There wasn’t a chance in hell of that. “I’m not stopping until you come for me.”

He tried to keep his pace consistent, but she tasted so good. He held her still as her cries grew more and more frantic, more and more breathless. She was about to come, and _he_ was the cause. He let go of her hip and pushed a finger inside of her. He growled at the feeling of her, of how tight she was. He kept the work on her clit with his tongue while he pushed a second finger inside of her. He loved how she clenched around him when she reached her climax. She dug her fingers into his hair, a scream slipping free.

With shaking legs he climbed to his feet. Now was the time to get to his goddamn bedroom to do everything he’d planned to do. But then she looked up at him, her clear blue eyes cloudy with desire, and his plan wavered. “You’re not making this easy on me.”

“This is your fault.” She licked his lips and it was all the invitation he needed. Bellamy kissed her, his need winning over his reasoning. A bedroom? He’d be lucky if he got out of his pants. He hooked her legs around him and paused to palm her breasts, each topped with a pink, hard nipple that were begging for his mouth. Christ. She was just as perfect here as she was everywhere else. With a soft, easy tongue he circled her nipple and she dropped her head back, sighing. He gently suckled, drawing a moan from both of them. He memorized her sounds and the details of her body.

Bellamy fumbled with his shirt and shoved his pants down and stepped up to pull her to the edge of the bar. He could actually see how wet she was, and her breasts bounced a little with each jagged breath.

“Clarke, I have condoms” he said between breaths.

“Have you been screened since the last time?” she asked. “Because I was checked after the D and C and I’m on the pill.”

He kissed her fiercely and shoved into her, sheathing himself to the hilt. They both froze. This was it, he was inside Clarke, and it felt perfect, fucking perfect. It struck him that this was the first time he’d ever had sex without a condom, and it felt right that it was with her.

“I can’t believe how good you feel” he told her against her skin, not sure if she understood him “I can’t believe I get to touch you like this…”

He kissed her as he moved slowly, withdrawing almost completely before thrusting deep again. He drew back and shoved in again, and again, and again. In that position she couldn’t do much but take him. Not that she minded anyway. She kissed him back with a ferocity he could only have dreamed of, her tongue battling against his. Her nails and heels dug into his back, urging him to go faster. As if there were any chance of him backing off. He was completely lost for sure.

He changed his angle and she went wild around him.

“God, oh, god, Bellamy, please…”

Her orgasm was so intense it pulled him into his own, and he thrust harder, grinding against her as he reached his own climax. He relaxed over her for a moment, all the strength he’d felt just a moment ago turned to nothing but softness. Looking down at her, he brushed her hair away from her face and looked at her sweaty and flushed face. It took him a long time to stop panting, to breathe normally.

She touched his face. “You’re just too good to be real, you know that?” she whispered.

He simply looked at her.

So this was what it felt like when you loved someone, when you wanted to please someone rather than be pleased. And he held her close and kissed her, because he couldn’t stop touching her, tasting her, exploring her body with gentle fingers.

“I can’t get enough of you.” He whispered to her. “I’m sorry I made you feel like I didn’t want you, when…god, you are all I’ve ever wanted.”

She smiled and rand her hands over his shoulders. “It’s how I knew it would be, Bellamy. You’re perfect.”

“I want to make you feel like that every night for the rest of my life.” He said.

She swallowed, because he kept saying those things, and she was almost sure what they meant. “Bellamy, I don’t want to scare you away, but I’m in love with you.”

He buried his face in her neck, in her soft blonde hair. “Babe, I love you so much, I think I’m going to die of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, please, please, let me know your thoughts (also give me some feedback on the smut writing, just to know how can I improve)  
> You can leave your comments here or in my [tumblr](http://bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)  
> Love you all
> 
> \- Jess


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never felt so humble in my entire life. I am so grateful for your words and your support. I cannot believe this silly experiment reached more than 500 kudos. Thankyouthankyouthankyou.

The sun came out and though they were in the middle of spring, the air was still cold, but the day was bright and sunny.  Octavia was not a morning person, but her fiancé was a definite one. When she woke up that morning, he was already gone. He always did that. He’d leave her sleeping and sneak away quietly. She supposed he was in the clinic.

She got to town and went to the bar, smiling when she found Lincoln having breakfast and coffee. The only explanation for Lincoln having breakfast this late was that Bellamy was late with his carefully planned breakfast. Octavia jumped on a stool beside him and gave him an inquiring look. He simply shrugged.

Clarke popped into the bar from the kitchen, and Octavia knew.

“Hi, Octavia” she said brightly. Her cheeks were pink, her blue eyes were twinkling behind sleepy lids and her smile was a tish secretive. Her lips were ruby, maybe a little swollen from kissing all night long. She seemed to flow into the room, happy, serene. Octavia smiled. How amazing that you can always tell when someone’s had sex. Lotsa sex.

Clarke took Lincoln empty plate and cup and took them to the kitchen. Octavia looked up at her fiancé. Lincoln lifted one eyebrow and gave her half a smile. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt, drawing him closer to her.

“What’s going on here?” she whispered.

“That should be pretty obvious.”

“I want you to take me home this minute and…”

“We can’t…” he whispered back.

“Why not?”

“Because Raven and Lexa are in our house. And you’re a screamer.”

“This is ridiculous. I’m so jealous.”

“At least some of us are having fun. Finally.” He said, throwing a look in the direction of the kitchen.

Just a few minutes later, Lexa made her entrance. She said good morning to everyone, patted Lincoln’s bald head – something he’d always hated – and accepted a mug of steaming coffee from Jasper.

“How’s everyone doing this morning?” she asked.

They all talked for a few minutes. Lexa looked around the room, she was starving! She needed some of Bellamy’s French toasts, but he was nowhere to be seen. She went to the kitchen and poked her head in to find Clarke and Bellamy in a serious lip-lock. Feeling somewhat the author of this hot embrace, she watched for a second. Clarke had her arms around Bellamy’s neck while he had both his big hands on her bottom, holding her close against him. They were completely oblivious to being watched and she couldn’t resist. She cleared her throat.

Clarke jumped and withdrew her arms, but Bellamy refused to release her, not moving his hands. He looked over the top of her blonde head with narrowed eyes.

“Beautiful morning.” Lexa said. “Whenever you get a second, could I have breakfast? I’m starving.” She grinned and left them.

She came back to the bar and hoisted herself up one of the stools, picking up her mug. Octavia, Lincoln, Jasper and the rest of the people there throw her knowing glances. She simply smiled.

“I just hope we all get breakfast before noon.”

 

Bellamy was in a constant state of euphoria and shock at the turn his life had taken. It had been more than three months since he stumbled upon Clarke and just a few days since they’ve become intimate. Nothing could have prepared him for the joy he felt. Working by her side through the day and having her in his arms through the night. In no time he had learned every way to draw a sigh from her, to make her cry out his name. if his relationship with Clarke wasn’t so private he might even thank Nathan for his advice.

He had a dozen methods to get he to her climax, but his favorite was to torture her delightfully by kissing her whole body, from eyelids to toes, spending a little extra time right in the center of her body. Every time he held her through that hot, gripping spasm that sometimes caused her to cry out his name and grab hold on him as if she was afraid he might float away, more than once he said “I think I could do this forever…”

He liked to catch her as she fell back to earth, gasping, breathless, weak from an electrifying orgasm. It was so pleasurable for him that he’d hold himself back, he would delay his own release just to give it to her again. It made him laugh to think that he was so worried he might break her. She surprised him with her strength, her power. She was like finely tempered steel. It wasn’t unusual for her to wrap her legs around him and refuse to let him go, or push him onto his back and climb on him, taking the choice, determining the pressure and the pace. Giving back what she’d gotten.

“How can I love you this much?” he asked her one night, in the aftermath of their lovemaking.

“Or this often?” she answered, laughing.

“Clarke, I want you to know something. I know it’s too soon for you to think about a lifetime, and I know you’ve heard some things about my past love life, but I’m not fooling around here. I don’t have any expectations, I swear, I just want you to know that. I’m in all the way. I don’t want you to ever worry that I’m just passing the time.”

She ran her fingertips through his temple, brushing some of his hair back. “Aren’t you a little afraid you could get tired of me?”

He shook his head. “Never. Not with you.”

“I won’t hold you to anything.” She said. “I’m just so happy to be here.”

“There’s something else I want to say about us. You can talk back, you can talk back al, you want, and have your opinions. I don’t expect you to be always happy, I’m all in for a cranky and annoyed Clarke, I want all of that – I want you to speak up, make demands and to insist in the smallest thing you could imagine. I want you to feel safe to yell at me because you’re in a mood.” He paused. “If you don’t want me for the long haul, I can live with that. What I could never live with is with you being afraid of how am I going to react when you’re just being yourself.”

And she cried, and hugged him tight, because she never though she could be loved like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this one, it was sort of a guilty pleasure.  
> You're all invited to my [trash can](http://bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)
> 
> \- Jess


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm sorry this took so long I've been super busy cause I'm 6 weeks away of getting my GP diploma (I'm scared shitless)  
> Supposedly I have a beta but I'm so embarrassed for my lack of commitment I didn't send this to her (I promise I will send u the next one darling)
> 
> I want to dedicate this chapter to Silvia, she's one of my sister's closest friends and she took the time to read all this just to give me an opinion.

And she cried, and hugged him tight, because she never though she could be loved like this.

“Bell, no one’s ever loved me like that…”

“Well, sweetheart, that’s the only way I know how to love you. If I’m gonna have you, it has to be all of you.”

She rested against him, her head on his chest, her fingers drawing shapes on his abdomen. She fell asleep with a smile on her lips. And Bellamy thought that finally he’d done it, he had put a permanent smile on her beautiful face and he was determined to keep it there. She was his whole world.

 

Later that week, while Clarke was watching television upstairs Bellamy decided to have some quality time with his best friend. For Nathan it was like watching a different person, Bellamy was the sort of man you didn’t want to see coming at you with a scowl on his face and his fists up. But here he was, all smiles and shiny eyes.

Nathan lifted his glass to his friend.

“To you, man. I think maybe you have it all now.”

“I have to drink to that.” He said. “I don’t have it all, but I will. When all that crap with her ex is left behind and she’s recovered enough, I’m…” he swallowed “I’m going to make a lifetime commitment. I wanna marry her and I wanna have a family with her.” He took a shaky breath. “Man, I never thought this would happen, not to me.”

Nathan chuckled. Good for him, he thought. Bellamy had waited enough for his happily ever after and he deserved it.

“She’s a great woman, Bell.” He smiled “And she’ll be an awesome wife.”

Bellamy smiled again, but sobered immediately.

“We have some issues to work out. Her ex he… he called her here.”

“Did you tell anyone about that?” Nathan asked, sitting up straighter.

“Yeah. We talked to Lexa and she got in touch with the judge. Clarke didn’t talk to him, I was the one who picked up the phone and I had to tell her. We promised not to keep things back from each other. He called a couple times, he says he wants to apologize and talk to her personally. Jesus, man, I can’t imagine that happening.”

“Is she doing okay?” Miller asked.

“Yes. She is so brave.” He smiled “I see it now. More and more everyday. She refused to get sucked in.” He sighed. “But even with her getting her confidence back, if that lunatic is coming here I’m not letting her see him. I will take her and run out of here.”

“Yeah. You have to take care of your family. Whatever it takes.”

They drink silently for a minute, enjoying the sound of the fire crackling. Nathan started to laugh.

“What is it?” Bellamy asked.

“You.” he said with a bit of laugh. “The most unlikely candidate for domestic bliss. And look at you now.”

 

***

 

Sadly, Connor Huner didn’t have to go to court. A plea agreement was reached and it did not give Clarke or Bellamy any piece of mind. The judge was disappointed in Huner for breaching the conditions of his bail by calling Clarke, but for some reason he only got mere forty-five days in prison with five years of probation. He also required to go to the AA meetings daily and to keep a record of his progress.

“I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you’re winning.” Lexa told her one afternoon. “He’s not getting away with anything. He’s getting a sentence, no matter how short it is. He also has to pay you.”

“I don’t care about money. I just want to be safe.”

“I know,” Lexa said. “But all things considered, forty-five days with the threat of the judge going bonkers and giving him 10 years if he fucks up is better than no time at all. Really.”

“Why doesn’t it feel better?” Clarke asked.

“Because you’re scared. And I would be too but think about the good things, like that RO you have against him. If he violates it he will be getting five years and in those five years he might actually change. Or god help me, he might find another target.”

“I don’t know if that’s encouraging or the worst thing I’ve heard.”

“I know.”

Later that week, Clarke received the notification that the loft was for sale and since it had been purchased with both of their names it was only fair she received half of the money. His lawyer, not so happy with this agreement, insisted they would have to talk more about the issue, Clarke, under Bellamy’s advice, told him to talk with Lexa.

“Are you worried about the money?”

“No. I’m worried I would never be able to escape.” She sighed. “I’m afraid and I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”

“You know I would do everything in my power to protect you, right?” she nodded. He grabbed her face and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “I promise you I’ll do whatever I can to stop him.”

“I know you will, Bell. I’m sorry you’re stuck with the basket case who’s afraid of everything.”

“I’m not stuck.” He smiled. “And never worry about money okay?”

“Could we not talk about money? It was so important to Connor, and I’m pretty sure part of that obsession drove him mad.”

“Okay, we won’t talk about money.”

Bellamy decided to let the matter rest, at least for now. He’d never talked about money to anyone. He and his family had been pretty much lower class, maybe poor. They lived in a two bedroom flat in and old brick building with broken windows and ruined cork floors. His mother kept the place real nice but he couldn’t remember new furniture in all the time she was alive. Everytime they needed something they went to goodwill to get it. He remembered their dinner table was actually a poker table with an unmatching set of chairs and they had one of those small plastic Christmas trees because they never had enough money to buy a real one.

That didn’t matter because they were happy, richer than most, and when his mother died Bellamy understood that they would never get that life back.

He sold the flat, moved to Mount Weather and did something pretty smart for someone so young – he invested it. He went online and used the money in a smart way. He didn’t like to brag, but he was sure he had enough money saved to never worry about it – which was something his mother never had the pleasure to do.

 ***

Two more months came and went and Clarke was sure, without a shadow of doubt that this was the life she wanted to keep on living. Bellamy and Lincoln started working on Lincoln’s new house. The soil was excavated and the foundation poured and Octavia watched everything with bright eyes, imagining her future in this place.

All their friends helped, everyone except for Maya, of course, who was getting bigger and bigger with each passing month.

And Clarke found herself feeling something she wasn’t sure how to interpret. Every time she watched Jasper hugging Maya and resting his hands on her belly, or Maya laughing out loud and caressing her bump because the baby kicked, she felt… longing.

It scared her half to death because after everything that happened with Connor she wasn’t sure she was ready for a family, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about one with Bellamy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are getting close to the end so enjoy all this bliss while it lasts.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy Jesus. I'm graduating in twelve days.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

It scared her half to death because after everything that happened with Connor she wasn’t sure she was ready for a family, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about one with Bellamy.

Because with him, Clarke was in all the way.

 

Later that night Bellamy was doing what he did every night. He was cleaning his kitchen. And he was doing it with a smile on his face, because had he not been here, working this old boring bar in this little town, he would not have found Clarke, who had become his everything.

He locked the doors and went upstairs to his room where he found Clarke in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing her hair. She was wearing one of his shirts, which came to her thighs. He came up behind her and moved her hair over one shoulder to kiss her neck, running his big, rough hand up her leg under the shirt, finding, much to his liking, that she was wearing nothing underneath. It wasn’t as thought she had to be psychic to anticipate him, she knew he wanted her all the time.

His hands crept higher under the shirt until he held one breast in each hand. She leaned her head back against him and hummed in pleasure. He pulled his hands out and slowly began unbuttoning her shirt, watching himself and her in the mirror. Her right arm came up, reaching behind herself to his neck, grabbing a fistful or his hair. The shirt was now hanging open. He slipped one hand inside to cup her breast while he used the other one to caress his way to her soft mound.

And he looked at their reflection, at the incredible image in front of him. She rested against his chest with her eyes closed in pleasure. He never dared hope for this – that he would have this, he would be this… half of something this beautiful, this loving, this perfect. And finally he saw himself as he was. Not at scary and weird man. He looked like a man in love, a man holding his family with strong and gentle hands. And this woman, _his_ woman, was leaning into his embrace, feeling the same desire he was feeling, the same connection, her lips parted in a soft sigh.

Sighs that shortly became more powerful as she gave herself to him completely.

He leaned down and kissed her neck, tracing soft kisses up to her lips.

“Baby,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “I’m gonna make you feel so good.”

“I know Bell,” she said, with another soft sigh. “I know”

 

The next week Clarke received a check with her half of the sale of the loft. It was a lot of money, but Clarke barely touched the documents.

“I hate even having it.” She told Bellamy that afternoon. “All I wanted almost since the first day living with him was _out_.”

“I understand that.” He said. “But you, as practical as you are, will find a good use for it. After all, you deserve it.”

She handed him the check.

“Then you save it. If I ever get over this, we can decide what to do with it together.”

Not so long after that conversation. The one thing they dreaded the most happened. Connor Huner was released from his Jail sentence. The DA called her and reported that he’d returned to his work and that he would have to assist to his required AA and probation meetings. What made Clarke nervous was that the probation meetings hadn’t begun and AA wasn’t likely to share his assistance records.

“Don’t worry, we’ll watch closely.” Bellamy said. “Lincoln, Wick, Raven and Octavia will take turns with me and we’ll keep a neighborhood watch. That dipshit won’t get near you, I promise.”

But even his words couldn’t keep the tears out of her eyes. She ran to their bedroom and cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah, I know is short, but at least is something.  
> I've been really busy 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> I CANT FUCKING BELIEVE I WILL BE A DOCTOR IN TWELVE DAYS!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what?!  
> I'm a freaking Doctor!  
> (I would show you my pretty diploma but it has my name and my ID number so, no)  
> Anyway, here's the chapter

Not so long after that conversation, the one thing they dreaded the most happened. Connor Huner was released from his Jail sentence. The DA called her and reported that he’d returned to his work and that he would have to assist to his required AA and probation meetings. What made Clarke nervous was that the probation meetings hadn’t begun and AA wasn’t likely to share his assistance records.

“Don’t worry, we’ll watch closely.” Bellamy said. “Lincoln, Wick, Raven and Octavia will take turns with me and we’ll keep a neighborhood watch. That dipshit won’t get near you, I promise.”

But even his words couldn’t keep the tears out of her eyes. She ran to their bedroom and cried.

 

When Jasper came in for work later that morning, Bellamy was leaning on the bar, staring down at nothing.

“Hey” Jasper said. “Where’s Clarke?”

“Upstairs.” Bellamy said shortly

Jasper tilted his head, listening. Clarke’s sobs could be heard, though muffled.

“Everything okay?” He asked

“It’ll be fine.” Bellamy said. “I’ll make it alright.”

Jasper nodded and started cleaning the tables. When Lincoln and Kyle came in for their coffee he threw them a worrying glance and walked next to Lincoln.

“Something’s wrong.” He said. “Bellamy’s been pissed off today and when I arrived Clarke was crying.” He swallowed. “Maybe they had a big fight or something.”

Kyle and Lincoln exchanged glances briefly, then got up and went to the kitchen. Lincoln knew what this was about. They all’ve been counting the days.

“What’s up man?” Wick asked Bellamy.

Bellamy kept his voice low. “He’s out. They say he went back to his work, but there is no way to check. Clarke’s scared, I’m scared and I have no idea what to do.”

“Get ready for anything.” Lincoln said. “Isn’t that what we were expecting?”

“Yeah, but… I don’t want Clarke thinking she is a burden. I’m pretty sure she won’t come out of the room, she would turn into a scared hermit like she did when she came here.”

“Well,” Wick said. “She needs to be scared. Scared is better than abducted.”

“I think she is going crazy,” Bellamy said. “After all, the last time I promised to protect her she lost her baby and –”

“Hey, hey.” Lincoln interrupted him. “Let’s not dwell on what happened last time. This time we are gonna protect her 24/7.”

“Yeah,” Jasper said. “We could all carry our guns this time, that dickhead will shit his pants.”

“Thanks guys.” Bellamy said with a sigh. “I’m gonna go up with her.”

“Yeah man, go with her,” Jasper said. “I can watch the fort for an hour or two.”

Bellamy cleaned his hands and took off his apron. Just before he left the kitchen, Lincoln stopped him by putting a hand on his elbow.

“Listen man,” he started “She’ll be alright. I doubt that shitface is going to storm into the bar and get himself shot. He’d just probably try to call Clarke and try to convince her he’s changed.” He paused. “His type is more manipulative than dangerous.”

“Oh, he’s dangerous.” Bellamy said, “He attacked her here, remember?”

“Yeah, but that was before he was risking a long-term sentence.”

“It makes sense.” He nodded. “But we still need to find him.”

“Maybe Nathan can help you with that.” Lincoln said. “Now go to Clarke. And tell her we’ll do everything to keep her safe and that we don’t quit early.”

 

Octavia would never get used to seeing her boyfriend, brother and friends wearing guns everyday, it was not easy. When she was a little girl and they lived in the city people with guns were either policemen or dangerous. The Only thing that gave her peace of mind was knowing that this way Connor Huner would not be able to get near her friend.

Clarke was upset – understandably upset – when she found out her ex was released from prison, but a week later and a phone call from one of Nathan’s contacts saying Connor seemed to be making good progress with his AA meetings and community service put her more at ease. It gave her hope.

 

 

It was almost five months since Clarke’s arrival and with all the work that needed to be done at Octavia and Lincoln’s new place, most of the afternoon Jasper and Clarke would be alone at the bar.

It was almost eight and the storm outside kept the costumers away, so they were drinking coffee and listening to the news on Bellamy’s old radio. Clarke was not worried because she knew Bellamy would come back when the storm ended and Jasper knew better than to leave her alone.

But a phone call changed everything.

They both looked at the phone with worried expressions. Not only it was surprising how the lines could work during a storm of this magnitude, it was also strange to receive a phonecall this late. Clarke gasped, what if it was about Connor? Had they lost contact on his whereabouts?

With shaking hands she grabbed the phone.

“Hello?”

“Clarke?” It was Maya. Clarke gave a relieved sigh.

“Yes, Maya, is me. What do you need?”

Hearing his girlfriend’s name, Jasper came close and stood next to Clarke.

“Well,” Maya said, lowly. “I called Lincoln’s office, but apparently no one is there.”

“Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not.” She drew out a shaky breath. “I think I’m in labor.”

 


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys, thanks for all the kind words.  
> Without futher ado, here's the chapter.

“Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not.” She drew out a shaky breath. “I think I’m in labor.”

“Oh my God, don’t worry, we’re going.”

“Thank you.” She said softly. “Please, hurry.”

Clarke hung the phone and turned to look at Jasper, who was looking at her with a mixed worried and interrogatory expression. She ran to the coat hanger and put on hers, throwing him his coat too.

“Your girlfriend is in labor.” She said “We have to go now!”

 “What?! But- How?!” He exclaimed. “She isn’t due until next week!”

“Well, tell that to your baby, we have to go.”

Hastily, Clarke grabbed the keys and opened the back door, running to Bellamy’s truck. Jasper was following her all pale-faced and shaky. Since he was in no condition to drive, he accepted Clarke’s offer to drive and gave her instructions to go to their house.

Given the weather, it was really hard to see the narrow streets of the town but after 40 minutes on the road and a whole lot of effort to keep Jasper calm, they finally made it to the small yellow cottage. A flushed Maya was waiting for them on the sofa, grabbing her abdomen with both hands. Jasper ran to her and grabbed her face with both hands.

Clarke waited until Maya, with a few whispered words, managed to achieve what she’d been trying to do for forty minutes and Jasper, more collected, stood next to his girlfriend and grabbed her hand.

Maya started telling her how she’s been having back pain all day long and how she started feeling this tightness in her stomach around four hours ago. She tried to leave the house and go to the clinic but her tires were stuck on the snow. That’s when she tried calling Lincoln.

“But no one was picking up the phone.” She said, breathing heavily. “And I remembered you had medical training.”

Clarke swallowed. She did have medical training and the delivery room was one of the places she liked to be the most. But it’d been years since her last delivery and even then she had appropriate medical equipment and nurses and her professors and colleagues.

“Okay.” She let out a big breath. “Let’s check how far you are.”

With the help of Jasper, they took Maya to the master bedroom, put some big plastic bags spread over the mattress and helped her get in position.

“Thank god.” Maya said, relieved. “I thought I was gonna have this little acrobat on the floor.”

“What do we do now Clarke?” Jasper asked.

Clarke took a couple of big, calming breaths.

“Bring all the pillows you can to prop her up, your first aid kit and a bunch of towels.” She told him. “I’m just gonna check on her and if she’s not that dilated we can call an ambulance.”

Once Jasper brought what was necessary, Clarke grabbed a couple of gloves from the first aid kit and checked on Maya’s birth canal. Crap. She was already eight-plus. They weren’t going anywhere. She pulled out her hand and with it came a gush of amniotic fluid. Double crap.

“Listen Maya, I don’t think we can move you to the clinic, you are almost there.” she took a towel and put it under Maya’s butt to sop up the amniotic fluid. “So we have to wait until is time.”

Clarke put her hands on Maya’s abdomen and felt the contraction. Two minutes later, she felt another one. She swallowed again; this little one was going to barrel out of her mother.

 

Bellamy tried to call Clarke, because the storm had really picked up by the time they finished that day’s work in the mountain. But there was no answer.

A small bubble of fear started growing inside him. Maybe she was upstairs watching TV and couldn’t listen to the phone. He tried again ten minutes later but there was still no answer.

“She pick up yet?” Wick asked.

“Not yet. She is probably asleep on the couch.”

With trembling hands and an incredible amount of worry he said goodbye to his friends and asked Lincoln for his truck. On the drive back to the bar, he tried not to think of all the bad things that could have happened to her. The fact that Jasper was with her meant nothing.

“He’s just 130 pounds! Why did I think he could protect her?!”

When he arrived to the bar, he stormed into it and noticed the lights were still on but neither Jasper nor Clarke where there. He fled up the stairs with a knot on his stomach. She was not there.

Just when he was about to rush out and start looking for her door by door, mile by mile, the phone rang.

“Bellamy?” Her sweet, sweet voice asked when he picked up.

“Clarke!” he shouted relieved. “Where are you?!”

“I’m with Jasper. Maya’s in labor.” She said. “She’s far too dilated for us to take her to town, but you can still go for Lincoln and tell him to come.”

“He’s still with the other and I have his truck.”

“Bellamy, please.” She pleaded. “Go for him and tell him Maya is at eight.”

“Okay, okay.” He breathed. “I don’t think he can make but I’ll go.”

“Thank you.” She said softly “And Bellamy?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

He smiled. “Me too. See you in a bit.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to end this fic this month because next month I'm gonna be super busy with my first job (yay!)  
> I already started writing another fic (I kind of like the small town setting) but I don't know when - or if - I will upload it.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are welcome.
> 
> The doors of my [trash can](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com/) are always open.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!!!!

“Okay, okay.” He breathed. “I don’t think he can make but I’ll go.”

“Thank you.” She said softly “And Bellamy?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

He smiled. “Me too. See you in a bit.”

 

Twenty minutes later there was no sign of Lincoln. Clarke paced around the room, noticing how for the contractions were. Jasper wore a helpless expression trough each one, as if he wanted to take Maya’s pain and turn it into his.

The young blonde didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that she might had to do it. After years without practice, she was going to deliver that baby. She checked Maya one last time, noticing that she was even more dilated than last time. Swallowing, she turned to look at Jasper.

“Um, okay, Jasper.” He looked at her. “Get a flashlight, the strongest one and go to the kitchen and start warming some water.”

“Why do you need a flashlight for?”

“For you.”

“For… me?”

“Yep, one of us is going to help the other see and the other one is going to catch the baby. Which job do you want?”

“Oh.” He said and rushed out the door to do what he was told to.

Clarke turned to Maya, who was breathing heavily on the bed, wincing with every contraction. She wished she had a stethoscope to check on the baby, to see if it was doing alright through all that stress.  Maya smiled at her.

“Maybe you should push it and I should catch him.” She said in a sight.

“Maya, how in the world can you be joking right now?”

“I know you’ll do a great job, it makes me calm to have you here.”

Yeah, Clarke was not so sure about the first part. With his arms full of towels and a big flashlight, Jasper entered the room.

“I brought more towels, in case we need them.”

Another contraction. Jasper ran next to Maya and grabbed her hand. It seemed like the action was more to calm himself than to help his girlfriend.

“Sweetheart,” he told her. “I want to make babies, but I don’t think I can watch you deliver again.”

Clarke hated to interrupt. “Jasper, I need you to shine the flashlight right on Maya’s pelvic floor. We need to see if the baby’s coming.”

“How are we going to see that?”

Clarke gave him the look that Bellamy used to give him three times a day.

“Your son has hair.”

“Okay, okay, don’t get pissy.”

He did as she told him and when they were able to see Jasper swallowed and paled a little more. In that moment Clarke wanted to beg Maya to wait for Lincoln. She wanted to run outside and get the doctor here as soon as possible.

“Now bring a blanket for the baby and some clothes.” Clarke told Jasper. “While you do that I’m gonna scrub my hands.”

“How much time do we have?” He asked.

“Not enough to screw around.”

By that moment, Clarke knew that Lincoln was not going to be on time. She ran to the bathroom, washed her hands the way she learned back in medical school and put on a pair of clean gloves from the first aid kit. She grabbed a clean hand towel and used it to protect Maya’s perineum with her right hand; she used the left to guide the baby out. She coached Maya trough her breathing and contractions. Three pushes later the head was out.

“Holy shit” Jasper said.

Clarke did the rest under pure instinct. She grabbed the baby by the neck, pushed down to free his right shoulder and then up to free the left one. When she did that the rest of the baby’s body came out. And that’s when the baby started crying.

 

Bellamy and Lincoln drove through the little town faster than they would normally do. Lincoln was preoccupied, Clarke had medical experience, and he knew she was really smart, but delivering a baby with no medical resources was a challenge even to experienced doctors.

They arrived to the little cottage as fast as the thick snow allowed them. Bellamy came out of the truck so fast he almost ruined Jasper’s Yoda garden statue.

“Clarke!” Bellamy yelled, opening the front door with a bang. “We’re here.”

“Lincoln!” She yelled from the room.

The doctor sprinted into the room and encountered with Clarke cleaning the baby vigorously while the little one kept crying his lungs out. He smiled and came closer, taking a pair of sterile gloves out of his bag and putting them on.

“I take it from here, Clarke.” He told the blonde. “You did an amazing job.”

He examined Clarke’s work, noticing the impeccable job she’d done. There was not even a small tear in Maya’s perineum, which was impressive, given this was her first baby. He started assisting the delivery of the placenta while Clarke kept on taking care of the baby.

Maya and Jasper were crying, admiring his little son. Clarke wrapped the baby in the little blanket and gave him to his mother, who took him with shaky hands and gave him a feathery kiss on his tiny head.

“What a woman.” Lincoln said. “You won’t need stitches, Maya.”

The doctor finished cleaning her and covered with a blanket. The new mother simply smiled and kept on admiring her baby. Jasper’s fingers were caressing his son’s cheek and nose; he seemed like he was about to faint or to burst into a song.

Bellamy stood under the threshold, transfixed by this miracle. Clarke came to him and hugged him, she was shaking. He came to his senses and started rubbing her back lovingly. _She must’ve been so afraid,_ he thought.

“You did an amazing job.” He told her softly and turned her into his arms. “Look at what you did.”

They watched the beautiful scene in front of them. There was so much peace and love in that room. Jasper smiling so brightly while he grabbed the baby’s hands and a teared-eyed Maya rocking him softly. Clarke dropped her head to Bellamy’s shoulder, closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax for a bit.

Yeah. She’d done a good job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My tumblr](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

They watched the beautiful scene in front of them. There was so much peace and love in that room. Jasper smiling so brightly while he grabbed the baby’s hands and a teared-eyed Maya rocking him softly. Clarke dropped her head to Bellamy’s shoulder, closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax for a bit.

Yeah. She’d done a good job.

 

Jayden Vincent Jordan came into the world with a nice pair of lungs, and that was the first thing everyone in the room noticed; Lincoln gave Maya a rush course on lactation and soon the crying come to an end. They were all mesmerized by this tiny, diaper-clad miracle.

“The first baby of the gang,” said Bellamy and Jasper smiled. “He’s a celebrity now.”

A couple of hours later the storm calmed and they were able to leave the new parents and their baby alone. Lincoln gave Maya some more tips and they all headed out of there. On their truck, Clarke leaned against Bellamy’s side and while he drove back to the bar, she enjoyed the warm feeling that had settled inside of her ever since she held that baby on her arms.

She then thought about her own pregnancy. It was a million times different because her baby hadn’t been wanted; it had been just and idea, a plan. She loved it, of course, and when she lost it hurt more than any of the beatings Connor gave her. Bellamy kissed her temple, taking her away of her thoughts, as if he sensed that she was entering painful territory. It was almost magical how such a little thing could mean that, could make her feel this comfortable, there, in his arms, it felt like home.

“Clarke,” he said softly. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“I finally understood.” She whispered. “This is how it’s supposed to be.”

And he knew she was talking about little Jayden, about having a baby without fear, with love.

“This is how it will be.” He whispered back.

When they arrived to the bar, Clarke got into one of his shirts and they spent the night curled up on their bed.

 

***

Nathan Miller had been living in Mount Weather since he was a little kid, just after his mother's passing but that didn’t mean he was a small town cop.

When he went to the police academy he wanted a taste of the city and spent a year working in DC, in the gangs unit and he was a damn good cop if he said so himself. Back then he made some good and some bad friends, one of the good ones was an officer in Parole and Probation, and he was his current source of information about Connor Huner.

“He’s doing what he’s gotta do.” Nathan told Bellamy and Clarke after his call. “He’s making his weekly appointments, he’s going to his AA meetings and doing community service everynight.”

“Hard to imagine.” Clarke said.

“This could be easier to believe. He’s… he’s living with a woman he met in the AA meetings.”

“Oh God… Lexa said he might do that.”

“I know it doesn’t sound good, but maybe this is good, maybe he’s forgetting about you.”

“You think we can relax?” Bellamy asked.

“Just a little, maybe.” He paused. “You should still be alert, though.”

“Guys like him don’t change.” Bellamy said. “Maybe you could keep on checking?” he asked his friend.

“Absolutely,” Nathan promised. “I’ll do it every week.”

Bellamy expected Clarke to be calmer, or at least a little bit relieved; they got good news, there was no question about it. But instead she was… sullen, almost depressed. When that day came to an end and they were on their room, she into his arms under the covers, he softly lifted her chin and kissed her mouth.

“What’s worrying you? Aren’t you a little bit happy?” he asked. “Is it because you don’t trust him?”

“Oh, I don’t, and I’m tired of this.” She swallowed. “I’m afraid I’ll never be free of him. And now I got you into this mess.”

“Hey, hey,” he grabbed her face and stroked his right thumb over her lips. “I don’t care if you have an army of Connors on your tail. The day you came into my life was the biggest miracle I could’ve hoped for.” He kissed her again. “I wouldn’t trade you for anything.”

 

In the next few weeks every resident of Mount Weather paid a visit to little Jayden. He was held so often Jasper started to wonder if other babies had been born before his son, because he had never seen a transformation quite as surprising. Even Bellamy with all of his broodiness seemed to be brighter around his son; and his face when Clarke held Jayden in his arms, it was startling.

He always looked at Clarke as if she were a vision, but in these moment, he looked dead in love.

“My brother.” Octavia said to Jasper one day, as they sat companionably on his kitchen table. “I never thought I’d seen him like this. He seems beyond happy. Though I wish I could take away that worried look he gets once in a while.”

“It is because of that dirtbag, you know.” Jasper said. “He ruined Clarke’s life.”

“If he shows up here again, I’m gonna kill him.”

Jasper laughed. Knowing her, it was not hard to imagine this tiny, young-looking woman kicking some ass.

 

Clarke smiled, looking at her work. The new flower pots, the trimmed bushes and the newly painted veranda really improved the looks of the bar. She knew it was a hunter’s bar, and it was supposed to look all manly and tough but the truth was that Bellamy’s bar was a place for family. She cleaned her hands on her overall and crouched next to her painting supplies, lifting the heavy box to take it inside, but before she could do it, her wrist was grabbed in a vicelike grip and she was quickly pulled to the side of the bar, out of sight. She felt something hard and cold under her chin and before she could register what it was, she found herself looking into the crazy eyes of her ex-fiancé.

“Wow Clarke.” He said in a dangerous tone that sent shivers down her spine. “You made this way too easy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me, I did warn you.  
> I will be waiting for your comments, your ~~hate~~ love in my [trashcan](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com/)  
> 


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised more updates but you wanna know what happened?  
> I'm a licensed doctor! (turns out the ministry of health granted me my license without doing my obligatory social service), and I've been really busy trying to get a work here in some free clinics because what's the point in being a doctor if you can't help?  
> Anyway, enough about me, enjoy the chapter!

She cleaned her hands on her overall and crouched next to her painting supplies, lifting the heavy box to take it inside, but before she could do it, her wrist was grabbed in a vicelike grip and she was quickly pulled to the side of the bar, out of sight. She felt something hard and cold under her chin and before she could register what it was, she found herself looking into the crazy eyes of her ex-fiancé.

“Wow Clarke.” He said in a dangerous tone that sent shivers down her spine. “You made this way too easy.”

His voice was low and lethal.

“We have two choices, dear,” he kept whispering. “You can come with me, nice and quiet or we can go in and do some shooting and then take you away.”

“God. No.” she pleaded. “Please Connor, don’t.”

“Don’t?!” he said, angry. “You fucking did this to me. You sent me to fucking _prison_!”

“Please,” she begged, softly. “Anything…!”

“Try me. It’s the two of us now, or the two of us with _him_ out of the picture.”

Clarke was not a religious woman. She grew up in a house full of scientists and because of that she never prayed. But she did it in that moment. She squeezed her eyes and prayed for Bellamy not to hear her. No one needed to get hurt, especially not him.

She let herself be led to an old truck, much like the ones that roamed the streets of the old little town. He pushed her in through the door and slipped next to her.

“Connor, you’re making this worst.” She insisted. “For you and for me.”

He turned and gave her a murderous look. She noticed his pupils, he was high, really high. He laughed cruelly.

“I don’t think so, honey.”

He started the truck, turned it and drove away past the bar. Clarke hoped to see someone out on their porches, someone who would recognize her and call for help. But there was no one.

She knew better than to try to reason with an intoxicated man. But this was worse than anything she could’ve ever imagined. She thought he would call, she though he would appear, but she never thought she would be alone to face him. While he kept on his nonsense about being free, she made up a plan. She would jump out of the truck and run.

But not now though. She would do it when they were farther from town. Not until Bellamy had time to come outside and notice the mess she left, time to sense that there was something wrong and could protect himself and call his friends.

He stopped talking then and gripped the steering wheel. Clarke studied him with fear. He had the rifle – she now understood that this was what he put under her chin before – across his lap and his tense jaw and narrowed red eyes took her back to the time they had together and to the living hell of her life before Mount Weather, before Bellamy.

They only passed a few cars, and none of them were of someone she recognized. He was driving through the woods were Bellamy took her on their first shopping trip. Clarke knew that road too well, maybe this was her opportunity to escape.

She grabbed the handle and tried desperately to open it. It wouldn't give. She pushed and moved the handle furiously.

Connor gripped her arm and made her turn around to face him. Her eyes were now watering, terrified. He scowled at her and gave her a grin. A mean grin.

“How stupid do you think I am?”

She swallowed hard. Of course he would jam the door.

“Do you plan to become a killer too?”

“Absolutely.” He said, calm. “But not until I make sure there is no one left to cry for you.”

“God,” she said in a weak voice. “Why, Connor? Bellamy hasn’t done anything to you!”

“He hasn’t?” he asked. “He took you away from me and turned you against me.”

“No!” she said, shaking her head. “I ran away. I ran from you.”

“Sure you did. But you stopped, and you did it for him.” He narrowed his murderous eyes. “Sending me to prison, taking my house away from me, that was _his_ doing. You don’t have the guts to do that.”

He smiled at her again. And it was a deadly grin.

“He’ll come after you.”

Clarke then realized, she was bait. Nothing but bait. That’s when her fear turned into rage, into a determination to be alive, no matter what she had to do.

 

When Lexa entered the kitchen, Bellamy’s scared and riled up voice could be heard. She walked to the kitchen and found him pacing the small space with the phone on his trembling hand, talking faster than she could remember. He hung up the phone and looked at her.

“Something's wrong. Terribly wrong.” He swallowed. “It’s Clarke, she insisted she wanted to decorate the porch and now she’s gone. She’s gone. Nathan is coming”

“Did you called Octavia’s? Raven’s?”

“Yeah, she’s not there.”

“How long ago?” Lexa asked.

“Around twenty minutes.” He kept talking and pacing. “I would have looked outside sooner but I was busy here in the kitchen and she was so content outside and – ” he stopped. “I can’t. I gotta go down the street and see if she’s around…”

“I’ll go too.” Lexa offered.

“This is wrong.” He said, desperate, shaking his head. “She doesn’t do these things. She always tells me where she’s going, she’s always really careful.”

Nathan came in just when Bellamy was leaving through the back door. Lexa and Miller connected eyes.

“What are you thinking?” Nathan asked her.

“Just what Bellamy said. This is really wrong.”

Lexa followed Bellamy out the back door and Nathan returned to his SUV and fixed his gun on his belt. Better to be prepared.

In less than 30 minutes, they had five more people who were willing to help with the search in town. They gave instructions to ask for any strange vehicles or noises and returned to the bar to get organized.

When they arrived to the bar, Lincoln and Octavia arrived in their truck behind them.  Jasper and Maya were already there, with baby Jay strapped to her chest. They all walked in together and Lexa ran to the phone to call her contacts in DC and get information on Huner.

“They’re gonna try to locate Connor.”

“Oh Jesus,” Bellamy said in a breath, grabbing his hair with both of his hands. “He did this, I know he did this.”

Octavia sat next to him and tried to calm him.

“We don’t know that, Bell.”

“That’s the only thing that could’ve happened. Clarke wouldn’t just disappear, for Christ sakes!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> [Wanna share your thoughts?](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)
> 
>  


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe my first bellarke fanfic got more than 700 kudos  
> I'm so happy

Octavia sat next to him and tried to calm him.

“We don’t know that, Bell.”

“That’s the only thing that could’ve happened. Clarke wouldn’t just disappear, for Christ sakes!”

“Calm down, Bellamy” Said Nathan, with a steady tone. “There’s no evidence of a crime. Yet.” He turned to look at Lincoln. “You should all go to your houses and star calling the people in the outlying houses and cabins. This phone should stay clear, in case Clarke calls.”

An hour later there were in the same position. Nothing had turned out from the calls and the door-knocking, nor had anyone in the outlying seen or heard anything. But then, Nathan got a call that sent shivers down everyone’s back. Connor Huner had purchased a ticket to Arcadia the day before and he had rented a car there.

“He’s got her.” Bellamy said. “That’s it, he’s got her.”

With tears in his eyes, he went to his shed, unlocked it and took out a pair of rifles, some vests and a couple of flashlights. He was ready to do something, whether or not the information he had was enough.

Miller went out to his truck and took out his own rifle and bulletproof vest. He had no need to have those on his truck, not in Mount Weather, but ever since he knew they’d released Connor, he’d been at the ready.

The rest on the people inside the bar just shook their heads and went to their houses and cars to fetch their own gear. Octavia had to admit, she was scared. When she’d been knocking on doors and getting her stuff ready she’d been thinking – she’ll turn up. Maybe she was just distracted by some old lady and was having tea in one of the town’s houses, enjoying the afternoon.

“Isn’t this a little over the top?” A scared Maya asked.

“I hope so.” Miller answered. “I really, really hope so.”

Five minutes later they were all dressed up and ready to start looking for Clarke.

“Okay Bell,” Octavia said, “Tell me your plan.”

“I don’t have a plan. I’m just gonna try to find her.”

“You’re so lucky I’m your sister,” she said. “Here’s my plan. Since the sheriff department will take care of the roads and the rest of the people in town are informed I say we should go into the woods, look for evidence.”

“He could be far away by now,” Jasper interrupted.

“No, I don’t think so,” Said Bellamy “Clarke is no longer the scared woman who ran from his claws. I’m pretty sure she’s putting up a fight. She won’t be quiet, he’s hiding, not running.”

“That’s right.” Lincoln said, with a smile. “Under all those bruises was a really badass woman.”

 

Connor kept driving and cursing and talking. He didn’t look at Clarke – but his eyes were still roving a little wildly. He was probably lost, she thought. He was a city man, he did not know these mountains and he often seemed to be driving in circles; she prayed this was a good thing and listened.

She listened how much he hated his current life in DC, how he used this new woman just for a place to stay, how he hated that he had to turn his pee for a checkup every week and had to go to the meetings four times every week.

“But you can fool the system. I could get good pee everywhere.”

And that’s how she knew he’d managed to stay one step ahead of them, for months. He was using drugs on a regular basis and maybe he’d been planning this for days.

“And don’t get me started on that fucking prison.” He said, and she listened. “It’s the worst.”

He slammed the wheel and cursed.

“I still can’t believe you fucking did that to me. I gave you _everything_. What did you ever need that I didn’t give you?”

_Respect._

He really believed that a nice place and money could make the abuse tolerable.

She thought about Bellamy – kind, loving, gentle and understanding Bellamy. She remembered his words.

_Fake brave, look mean._

She would be damned if she left this delusional bastard take her new life away from her, her new friends and her new love.

He drove up a narrow spiraling road upwards into the mountain until they reached a small rise with very few trees where you could see all the roads down, the main one and the connecting roads.

“This should be fine.” He said, killing the engine and opening the door.

“Fine for what?” she said, following him out of the truck through the driver’s door.

He turned and looked over at her with that crazy and mean expression and put his hand on her check. She shuddered at his touch and swallowed. He hadn’t hit her yet and she was not prepared for it.

“Why didn’t you just run?” she asked in a whisper. “You have money Connor, you can go wherever you like.”

He gave a huff of laughter.

“Going away is not as satisfying as this. This is the way it all should end.”

He gave her a cryptic smile and grabbed a roll of duct tape out of his seat.

“Come on Clarke, let’s get this party started.”

 

After they established some rendezvous points, Bellamy, Miller, Lexa, Octavia and Lincoln left in their trucks. The idea was to call Jasper every two hours to see if Clarke had showed up, in case they didn’t find anything in the woods.

When the trees made the driving difficult they got out of the trucks and set on foot looking for trails or evidence to track. Whenever they came across a vehicle or a person, they showed a picture of Clarke – the one on her ID card – and gave descriptions of the truck and Connor Huner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have three or so chapters left.   
> This was one wild ride, I have some other ideas I'm working on and I hope you like them too.  
> Thank you for all your love :)
> 
>  
> 
> [My blog](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)
> 
>  


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to dedicate this chapter to the lovely Alexa, she doesn't have an account but I'm hoping she will share her tumblr account with me (If she has one) because she'd been super obssesed with this fic and her comments make me smile everytime I read one.  
> Anyway, thanks for all the congrats and comments I got in the previous chapter,  
> I hope you enjoy this one, we're getting closer and closer to the end.

“Why didn’t you just run?” she asked in a whisper. “You have money Connor, you can go wherever you like.”

He gave a huff of laughter.

“Going away is not as satisfying as this. This is the way it all should end.”

He gave her a cryptic smile and grabbed a roll of duct tape out of his seat.

“Come on Clarke, let’s get this party started.”

 

After they established some rendezvous points, Bellamy, Miller, Octavia and Lincoln left in their trucks. The idea was to call Jasper every two hours to see if Clarke had showed up, in case they didn’t find anything in the woods.

When the trees made the driving difficult they got out of the trucks and set on foot looking for trails or evidence to track. Whenever they came across a vehicle or a person, they showed a picture of Clarke – the one on her ID card – and gave descriptions of the truck and Connor Huner.

Four hours later they decided to extend their search to the nearby road stops. Miller and Bellamy stopped in one stop they used to visit when they made long drives – a little bar served by a waitress Bellamy had been seeing some time, long before Clarke came into his life. He noticed the way her eyes lit up when she saw him enter the place. Gena was an attractive woman, and one of the most kindhearted women he knew.

“Hiya, Bell. It’s been a long time”

“Gena,” he said with a nod. “I’m not here on a social call. My… uh, my girlfriend has gone missing.” He said, flashing Clarke’s picture. “We suspect her abusive ex fiancée is responsible. Her name is Clarke.”

“Aw, Jesus Bell, that’s awful.”

“Everyone’s out there, looking.” He said, trying unsuccessfully to swallow the now familiar lump in his throat. “Can I get you to spread the word to anyone who happens in here for a drink?”

“You bet I will.”

Bellamy described Connor and his rented truck and he explained that they weren’t sure he had her, but he was the prime suspect. He explained how they found Clarke’s stuff still inside the bar.

“I’ll tell anyone who’ll listen,” she promised.

“Thanks.” He turned to go and then he turned back to her. “I love her, I’m really happy with her.”

She gave a nod. “I heard that. I’m happy for you, I’m glad this worked out and I really hope you find her.”

“Anything you can do about it, I’ll consider it a personal favor.”

“I hope she’s okay.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Me too.”

When he left, a blue eyed man in a worn denim jacket who wore a black beanie slid down from the other end of the bar, getting closer to Gena.

“What was that?”

“Wow, Murphy, you can to talk now?” she asked with a smile, wiping the bar. “You probably heard, a woman from Mount Weather has gone missing. They suspect her ex fiancée is responsible. He’s driving a black Ford truck. Short hair, crazy looks.”

He didn’t say a thing, put down his beer, took a pair of dark shades out of his jacket and put them on, leaving a ten dollar bill. Then he left the bar.

 

***

 

She understood now. Connor pushed her to the ground, her back against a tree and with duct tape, he bound her hands and ankles and put a strip of tape over her mouth.

“That’s a great look on you, Clarkey,” he said. “You can finally shut up.”

He positioned a couple of flashlights around her to make her more visible in the dark of the woods. Then for almost an hour, sat close to her and talked about all the disappointments of his life from his unhappy unprivileged childhood to his jail term – mere forty five days – that he described as if they could’ve been years. He had many complaints about their relationship and apparently everything that went bad was her fault. She drove him to abuse because she was needy and bratty.

He spoke slowly, with the calm composure of a suicidal man.

He had deduced – and he was probably right – that Bellamy and her friends were looking for her and they will eventually be drawn to that spot, where he would see their vehicles approach and his plan would be almost completed.

When he finished talking he left the truck in the highest spot on the hill, in plain view, close to where she was tied. Connor flipped on the flashlights and went into the trees where he could see any rescuer that might come this way. He had planned that from that point, he would shoot Bellamy, then Clarke and then he would end his own life.

He gave her that creepy grin.

“You win,” he told her. “Sort of.”

And Clarke shut his eyes and prayed, prayed for Bellamy and his friends to be smarter than this psychopath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [You know the drill](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try and finish this in the next chapter because I am really anxious about starting writing my new fic (I promised myself I wont start working on it until I finished this one).  
> So there's one chapter left and the epilogue (it is going to be a ton of fluff, you'll love it)
> 
> Enjoy!

He gave her that creepy grin.

“You win,” he told her. “Sort of.”

And Clarke shut his eyes and prayed, prayed for Bellamy and his friends to be smarter than this psychopath.

 

 

By seven that night, the search party was up to more than twenty men and women, some of them grumbling about it being useless because she could be in DC for all they knew. But for bellamy none of this mattered, he was going to find her and he was going to give Connor a piece of his mind and a piece of his fists; he was planning on doing what he avoided the last time he had hurt Clarke.

“Are you worried about not finding her, Bellamy?” a wheezing Jasper asked as they walked through the woods.

“I know I’m gonna find her. I’m worried it will be too late.”

They had walked all types of roads; logging roads, mountain roads, paths, animal trails, and there was nothing. Not a clue. They even had ropes and harnesses in case they needed to rapell down a hill. Everyone was tired, except for Bellamy; he was driven, acting like mad. And as long as he was acting like that his friends would stay with him.

 

A blue eyed man with no name other than John Murphy had been having a drink in his favourite bar when he heard a conversation between a man and the bartender. He kept in his mind the details of the conversation, the appearance of the woman they were looking for, the colour and brand of the truck. And he knew he’d seen that truck earlier that day, with a crazy looking man inside accompanied by a beautiful woman. The man was gripping the wheel intensely and glaring at every form of life out of the truck. He seemed nervous.

John was an experienced observer. He needed to be one because he was an illegal grower and any suspicious individual might call on his work.

Yes, he was a criminal, but the abduction of a woman seemed despicable even for him.

He didn’t offer to join the search – Deputy Miller might have a problem with that. But he was going to poke on his own because he’d seen them, each and every person of that tight-knit group of Mount Weather and they all seemed nice enough. He also had a debt with the town doctor who stitched him a while back without asking questions.

Anyway, John knew his way around these mountains and it would be a damned shame if he left that woman get hurt because he was a hermit dick. He decided to look around places no-one liked to look around, places that could serve as a good hiding point.

He kept his flashlight pointed down, trying not to raise any alarms. He knew they weren’t looking near because the hidden trails he knew so well were intact. That alone kept him going.

This woman, if he remembered well, was around his ex’s age and size. He really couldn’t picture what he’d have done if Emori had been taken from him like that.

He’d probably go crazy.

 

The moon was high in the sky when he came upon the truck and the woman not far from it. One look told John something bad was going on. The scene had the word TRAP written all over it. She was tied up against a tree with a bunch of flashlights illuminating her. Like a beacon.

For a moment he thought she was dead and had the wild desire to search for that unknown man to kill him, but then he saw her move and sighed in relief. She lifted her head, shivered and let her head down again. As far as he could see, she was alone. There was no one inside the truck.

It was a setup and he was not going to fall for it so he came around the trees trying to find where the ex was hiding. He cursed softly when he noticed it was darker than a dungeon and if he used the flashlight he would reveal his position. He took a breath and started walking slowly trying to be as quiet as possible, using the sounds of the woods to help him stay hidden. Every time he cracked a twig of stepped over a puddle he froze and listened.

Then he saw him. At the top of the hill, hiding behind a tree, waiting to strike was the monster everyone had been looking for all day. He heard the distant approach of vehicles and cursed. Using the cover of the engine noises he ran back down the hill until he reached the party of trucks. He stand in front of them and flagged them down with his flashlight.

The deputy lowered his window.

“What the fuck…?”

“This is it,” Murphy said quietly.

“What?”

“They’re up there. Take your trucks down the next connecting road, as if you were leaving,” he said quickly. “Leave them down there, turn off your flashlights and I’ll meet you up there, just before the clearing.” he said, giving his head a jerk towards the hill. “Let’s do it.”

“Wait,” Bellamy asked, leaning forward to see his face, “Is she okay?”

“Yes, I think.” He answered. “Come on, come on. Let’s not get his attention. Take your trucks down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Murphy is my trash baby.  
> If you want to talk about bellarke's reunion in yesterday's episode you can because it wrecked me and I need someone to share the suffering with.
> 
>  
> 
> [My tumblr](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com)


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are.  
> This is the final chapter of the story.  
> Thank you for your love and all the kind words and all the encouragement.

“Yes, I think.” He answered. “Come on, come on. Let’s not get his attention. Take your trucks down.”

Nathan threw the truck into gear and drove on, the suspicious man by the road directing the rest of the trucks with his flashlight.

Murphy took position and waited a few moments and then he could hear them coming up. When the last one arrived he turned to them and told them what he thought Connor had planned.

“He’s got a plan. The woman is bound in plain sight and I believe he’s in the trees, hiding. I bet he’s got a weapon ready too. You could go up the road and see his truck parked, but to catch him we’re gonna have to go up the back side of the hill – but there’s no path. Anyone here good at stepping light and soundless?”

“I’ll go with you.” Nathan said.

Murphy swallowed. He wasn’t really ready to take a walk into the woods with a Deputy.

“Alright,” he said. “We’ll circle up, you could go up the road silently with no more than a flashlight pointing to the ground.” He said to the rest. “We’ll meet up there.”

Bellamy grabbed his jacket before they could go.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked.

“I was in Gina’s place when you came in,” he said, defensively. “I know these mountains like the back of my hand. If you think I have some hidden – ”

Lincoln interrupted the conversation putting an arm around Bellamy’s shoulders.

“Let’s just find her,” the doctor told them. “We'll sort this out later, okay?”

And with that the two teams separated. Bellamy, Lincoln, Jasper and Octavia up the dirt road and Murphy and Nathan rounding the hill to get to Connor’s back. The climb was easy for Bellamy and his group, not so swift for the deputy and Murphy.

Once they reached the top of the hill, they spotted the old truck. Bellamy stopped on his tracks and crouched, sneaking up on the truck, his friends following him close behind. Not far from there, he saw her, tied against a tree, her chin dipped down to her chest as if she were asleep.

Or dead.

Her name came out of his mouth in a stunned whisper and before Lincoln could grab him by the ankles he walked towards her. She lifted her head and saw him, eyes wide with fear. Next thing he knew a gunshot sound filled his ears and a sharp, stinging pain on his left bicep threw him onto the ground like a boulder.

It all became silent. There wasn’t a second shot or any screaming, but there was a disturbance in the trees were the shot came from. Jasper looked over the bed of the truck and saw what seemed like a running figure down the hill, followed by two more figures. Maybe Huner was on his way down, trying to escape from Nathan and John.

Bellamy was being held by Lincoln, but he was still alive. So alive that he kicked his way out of the doctor’s hold and crawled his way toward Clarke with incredible speed. He pulled her bound body around the tree, to cover them both from Connor’s view, then he put his trembling fingers on the tape that covered her mouth.

“It’s gonna hurt a bit, baby.” He said softly and gave the tape a quick yank.

She pinched her eyes closed and waited for the pain to pass.

“Bell, he’s been waiting, he wants to kill us both.”

Bellamy took out a small pocket knife and worked on the binds around her wrists and ankles. He rubbed the marks the rope left with a finger.

“Crazy son of a bitch hurt you again.”

He took a chance and peered behind the tree. There was definitely someone running down the hill. Clarke touched his left shoulder, blood was running down his arm.

“You’re hurt,” she whispered.

He put his finger to his lips and they froze. There was a faint rustle in the trees.

About a minute later they heard Nathan’s shout.

“He’s down! We’re bringing him out!”

Bellamy peered around the big tree again and saw Octavia on the ground, pointing her rifle in the direction were Nathan was supposed to appear.

The man who’d led them to the hill had lost his beanie, but he was hauling Connor on his back through the trees until he reached the clearing. He dropped his cargo with a flop and wiped his forehead.

“What the hell happened?” Octavia asked.

Nathan appeared out of the wood, giving his partner a glare.

“He couldn’t wait!” he pointed at John. The accused man just shrugged. “He hit him with his rifle!”

The deputy took a pair of handcuff off his belt and yanked Connor’s hands behind his back to cuff him.

Jasper looked at them.

“Is he dead?”

“Nah.” John said. “But he’s gonna have one hell of a headache.” He tuned on his flashlight and pointed it to Connor. “He started shooting before I could reach him and it was too dark to get a clear shot.”

“So you whack him?” Jasper said. Murphy shrugged again.

Bellamy appeared with a shaking Clarke on his arms.

“Thank you.” He said to John.

“You’re welcome,” he turned to Nathan. “You’re gonna have to change the report. I can’t be questioned, my line of work is not exactly honorable.”

“Hmmm,” the young Deputy looked over at his best friend, kissing Clarke’s head and whispering reassuring words to her. “I guess I can let it pass.”

John Murphy just nodded and walked down the hill, through the trees.

A few seconds later the man on the ground started to squirm and moan. Bellamy growled and considered to kick him for a moment, deciding again not to be violent in front of Clarke.

“Bellamy,” Nathan said, taking his attention away from Connor. “You do realize you could’ve gotten killed right? When we heard the shot we had to run up the hill like never before. If this piece of crap was any better with a gun, we could have lost you!”

Bellamy grinned. “He didn’t, you hit him in the back of the head and stopped him.”

“Yes,” Nathan said, looking over at all of his friends, “I hit this man on the back of his head, okay? We all good on that?”

They all nodded.

 

 

Connor Huner awoke from his head injury in Arcadia’s hospital, cuffed to his bed, with no idea who had struck him. He claimed he had no memory of abducting his ex and he was, of course, a victim of these crazy hillbillies.

But there was many witnesses – from Clarke to all the people in their search party and that included Deputy and Sheriff Miller. Lexa did everything in her power to avoid any easy trials, she worked hard not to get any plea agreements. In the end the D.A. did accept an agreement, but one that would make Connor a very old man by the time of his release.

Clarke and all the people at Mount Weather were really grateful.

Still, it was not over. Sometimes Clarke would wake up in the middle of the night with a cry on her lips, shuddering, trembling, crying and shivering in fear. Bellamy would pull her close and whisper tender and calming words to her.

“Shhh, baby. I’m here, I’ll always be right here.”

And that was enough. She would calm. Because this time it really was over.

 

***

 

Bellamy Blake spent countless nights thinking and planning how to propose to the love of his life. It’d been almost ten months since Connor’s arrest and he was positive Clarke was recovered.

He asked Lincoln and Jasper but none of them were pretty specific about it. They all said he should concentrate more in the feelings and less in the scenery, and he understood that but he wanted to give Clarke an unforgettable moment, he wanted to show her that she was everything he had hoped for in a partner, he wanted to show her that he loved her whole, with her past and her broken pieces.

Bellamy was so preoccupied with this that it became all he could think of.

Ona day he was shredding some cheese and she was peeling potatoes next to him. The air was thick with heat and she was sweaty, her hair was stringy and she looked adorable with a dirt stain on her cheek.

“Whenever you’re ready, marry me,” he said, his mouth betraying him, “I’m _dying_ to marry you.”

He swore, blushed and waited for Clarke to say something. This knocked her right off her feet, but she didn’t need more proof of how much Bellamy loved her. Because right here, he was looking at her in her worst physical state and he had already looked at her in her worst emotional state and he still thought she was perfect.

So of course she said she was ready. She said yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have to post the epilogue and I'll do it later this week.   
> I'm already working on my next fic (I have two more fic ideas but I can only concentrate on one of them :/)  
> Anyway, thank you again.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus, I'm about to cry.  
> I put the uploading of this chapter on the side this week because I can't deal with the idea of stopping this fic.  
> This was my first fic in this fandom and my first fic in a looong time (also my first multichapter in english)  
> I am extremely grateful about your response, your kudos and your support.   
> Words are not enough to thank you, just know that I am sending you hugs and kisses cause you've made me want to write again with all your beautiful words, even when I though I will never write again.
> 
> Thank you
> 
> This chapter is, of course, dedicated to you all.

Mount Weather was not particularly warm, but two years after Clarke and Bellamy’s wedding, a sunny July morning brought some action to the Blake family – labor pains.

Bellamy was back and forth from the kitchen to their room in no less than every ten minutes.

“How is it now?” he asked his wife.

“Bellamy, please, relax a little. I’m still having contraction ten minutes apart.” She said, flipping through her magazine. “They’re not real hard and this could go on for another day.”

“You mean it’s not going to be today?”

“Bellamy, go.”

Jasper was cleaning the counter and singing out loud to some reggae song on the radio, doing a fairly good impression of the artist accent. He stopped when Bellamy appeared down the stairs, his head hanging.

“Still ten minutes apart.” He told his friend.

“I have an idea, bud. Let’s get some food ready for today and tomorrow in case your baby decides to arrive tonight,” he tried to cheer him up “you know, by then you won’t feel like cooking.”

“Should I call Lincoln again?” Bellamy asked.

“No.” Jasper answered “We should let him do his work and when he is really, really needed we’ll call him,”

“Okay,”

Jasper chuckled under his breath. His own experience with Jayden had lacked this anticipation, his son arrived surprisingly and now, watching his friend and his anxiety he couldn’t be more grateful. Maybe the nice slow buildup wasn’t so great after all.

Bellamy was going to be a wreck by the time this baby finally made an appearance.

Later that afternoon, Lexa entered the bar. Jasper and Monty were talking and drinking some cokes.

“Hey,” she told them and Jasper passed her a beer.

“Hey Lexa,”

“How’s Clarke doing?” she asked, opening the bottle.

“She’s still in early labor.” Monty answered, “She’s been trying to rest but Bellamy is driving her crazy,”

“Aw, he’s excited.”

“Yeah, I don’t think _excited_ is the right word for it.” Jasper said.

The rest of the day the gang kept on appearing, enjoying the humorous commentary Jasper gave about Bellamy’s nerves and Clarke’s slow progress and growing annoyance with her husband.

By the time the dinner hour came, Bellamy proudly announced that her contractions were eight minutes apart. Lincoln arrived a few minutes later and checked on Clarke. She was walking back and forth trying to make the contractions appear faster.

“That’s a great idea,” Lincoln congratulated her. “Are you uncomfortable?”

“Not really. I thought I could get some sleep tonight but with Bellamy asking me how I’m doing every five minutes, that could be impossible.”

Lincoln smiled. “You can still have dinner but nothing too heavy, in case you get nauseous during delivery.”

Since Lincoln knew from the bottom of his very experienced heart that this was going to be a middle-of-the-night delivery, he had brought all the necessary stuff and was ready to spend the night on Bellamy’s and Clarke’s spare room.

The knock on the door came around midnight. Clarke’s contraction were three to five minutes apart now and so strong she could no longer walk them. The doctor got up, washed his face with cold water and went to the couple’s room.

“What took you so long?” Bellamy asked, while pacing the room.

Lincoln looked at his watch. “We’re right on time, Bell”

“Lincoln, please,” Clarke pleaded while rubbing her belly, “Pour Bellamy a shot.”

“No, no” her husband replied, “I want to be alert,”

“You’re too alert! Do as I say!”

“I should probably add some Xanax to the mix,” the doctor muttered and Bellamy glared at him.

After Bellamy was somewhat calm, the action started.

“You’re doing great,” Lincoln said while Clarke hold her breath through a contraction.

Two hours later Lincoln managed to break her water and sped up the process. By 3.00 a.m. she was almost fully dilated. The doctor observed with a smile, Clarke took the pain pretty well.

Bellamy, on the other hand, grew paler and paler with every contraction. Lincoln took him by the arm and directed him to a chair.

“Sit here,” he told him “If you faint I will be too busy with your wife to help you.”

“I won’t faint,” he told him, indignantly. “I’ve been waiting forever for this.”

“Bellamy, baby,” Clarke said, panting, “You don’t have to stay.”

“I’m staying,” He insisted.

For a man like Bellamy to watch any woman in his life suffer and struggle was obviously torture, but it must’ve been almost unbearable that this time was his wife, the one he’s been protecting since before he knew he was in love with her.

When the baby’s head finally came out, Bellamy took a look at his wife, swallowed and collapsed into the chair with a groan.

“Okay Clarke,” Lincoln coached her, “Just breathe – ” he helped the baby with the rotation, “Now a little push,”

Clarke did as she was said and the baby slid into her uncle’s hands easily and immediately began to cry her lungs out.

 “Oh boy,” Lincoln said, a little teary-eyed, “She’s strong, listen to those lungs!”

Lincoln put the baby in the warm towel he’d prepared and placed her in Clarke’s belly to dry her off. Bellamy stood with shaky legs and as soon as Lincoln told him he cut the cord and slid weakly into the chair again. The doctor tried not to laugh.

All wrapped and comfy into her blanket the baby was placed on her mother’s arms and quickly settle to the breast.

“Bellamy, man,” Lincoln said to the pale faced man on the chair, “Get up here and keep your eyes on your wife and baby,”

“Why?” he asked weakly.

“Because I still have bloody work to do and I’m pretty sure you’ll faint.”

“I won’t,”

“Yeah right,”

“Here, Bell,” Clarke said softly. “Look at our girl. Isn’t she beautiful?”

Lincoln concentrated on massaging the uterus, like he’d done a million times. Was in that moment when he heard a sound he’d thought he’d never will. The doctor looked up over Clarke’s raised knees and saw the most stunning sight. Bellamy was resting his lips against his daughter’s head and crying his eyes out. He then slipped one arm under his wife’s shoulders, holding his family on a big muscly embrace, and sobbed.

Remarkable. Clarke simply smiled and touched her husband’s face with gentle fingers. Lincoln was moved almost to tears himself by his brother-in-law’s emotion.

He finished his work, cleaned her up and checked on the bleeding. When he was done he took of his gloves and his surgical apron, throwing them in a red plastic bag.

Bellamy sniffed back his tears, grabbed a fistful of the doctor’s shirt and hugged him.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice not concealing his emotions, “God, Lincoln – thank you. Thank you so much.”

“They did most of the work.” He said with a chuckle.

Bellamy returned to his wife’s side and unwrapped her little daughter, touching her with devoted fingers.

“Look at those feet,” he said, laughing. “And look at that tiny little head.”

“She has a lot of dark hair,” Lincoln observed.

“Must be a Blake thing,” Clarke said, smiling down at her daughter.

“And she’s gorgeous,” the doctor said again.

“That’s definitely a Griffin thing,” Bellamy said, kissing his wife lovingly.

At 7.00 a.m. that morning, the whole town knew about little Aurora Marie Blake, and they were all told by a laughing doctor that the baby and her mother were fine, but her scary daddy was a bit wobbly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :')
> 
> [My blog](http://www.bellarkeaddict.tumblr.com/)


End file.
